



MmmF 



^Mm 



J\^o^d<d. \/£rC,3J^, ^ay^ C!yO 



# 



tf mekrg 0f p0unt |^tttarn. 










•^^^iAd JSoifffft 



TOWER FROM THE NORTH WEST. 



HISTORY 



OF TUB 



CEMETERY OF MOUNT AUBURN. 



I 

BY JACOB BIGELOW, 

PKKSIDKAT OF THE COliPORAHON. 



" But bear me gently forth, 
Leneath the opeu sky, 
Where on the pleasant earth 
'Till night the sunbeams lie. 

Leave, at my side, a space 

Where thou shalt come at last 
To find a resting place 

When years and griefs are past." 

BUYANT. 



BOSTON AND CAMBRIDGE: 
JAMES MUNROE AND COMPANY 

W DCCC LX. 






Entered accordinjr to Act of Cor.gre??. in the rear 1S59, 

By JACOB BIGELOTV, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of 

Massachusetts. 



CAMBRIDGE, MASS.! 
Thtirstoii, Miles, and Pritchett, 
P B I N T E R S . 






PREFACE. 



Having been a witness and an agent in most of the 
movements which, have taken place in regard to Mount 
Auburn Cemetery from its commencement to the 
present time, I have felt it a duty to leave on record 
some account of the more noticeable occurrences 
connected with the inception, progress, and manage- 
ment of the first enterprise of its kind in the United 
States. That this task might be discharged with 
fidelity, I have strengthened my own reminiscences 
by those of my friends, as well as by a perusal of the 
Records of the Corporation, from which frequent ex- 
tracts are made, and also of such contemporaneous 
publications and documents as I have, for my own 
satisfaction, from time to time, preserved. 

Thu'ty years ago, the citizens of this metropolis 
buried their deceased friends in frequented parts of 
the city, crowding to the utmost capacity the spaces 
provided for them, and filling with sepulchres the 
cellars of their most central churches. So rooted 
was the attachment to this objectionable, but in- 
veterate custom, that a change of place from the city 
to the country was not effected without difficulty, and 
not until after some years of unsuccessful eff'ort on the 



VI PREFACE. 

part of its advocates, and even then only by a fortunate, 
and as it were, accidental concurrence of circum- 
stances. But the successful experiment of Mount 
Auburn had no sooner been made, than it was rapidly 
imitated in all parts of the United States. The at- 
tractive and consoling association of the garden with 
the grave has found a response in almost every consid- 
erable city and village of our country. Men seem to 
have discovered, as it were, a new solace, and almost a 
new pleasure, in building and decorating their own 
tombs.* 

To the memory of Joseph Story, George W. Brim- 
mer, George Bond, H. A. S. Dearborn, and B. A. 
Gould, and to my surviving friends and early col- 
leagues, Charles P. Curtis and James Bead, this little 
volume, the token of much pleasant intercourse and 
grateful remembrance, is now dedicated. 

* Mount Auburn was consecrated as a Cemetery in 1831 ; 
Laurel Hill, near Philadelphia, was incorporated in 1836 ; Green- 
wood Cemetery, near New York, in 18b7. 

J. B. 



CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

PAGB 

A SUBURBAN Cemetery, 1 

Original meeting, 2 

Committee on purchase, 2 

Contemplated sites in Brookline and Roxbury, . 3 

Ineffectual negotiations, 3 

"Sweet Auburn" or '* Stone's Woods,'' ... 3 
Mr, Brimmer's purchase, . . . ' . . .3 

Overtures for a Cemetery, . . . . • 4 

Horticultural Society, 4 

Meeting at the Exchange Coffee House, ... 5 

Experimental Garden, 6 

Progress op the enterprise, 6 

Meeting at Joy's Building, 7 

Subscription commenced, ...'.., 8 

Preliminary Report, 8 

Subscription completed, 8 

Garden and Cemetery Committee appointed, • .10 

Consecration of Mount Auburn, . . . . 11 

Cotempokaneous account, 12 

Description of Mount Auburn, 14 

Avenues and lots laid out, 19 

Size of lots fixed, 20 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

FAGK 

General Dearborn, ....... 20 

Paths and avenues named and plan lithographed, . 21 
Public lots, St. James and St. John's, . . . .21 

Auction sale of right of choice, .... 22 

Price of lots from 1831 to 1854, 22 

Wooden board fence erected, 23 

Hannah Adams, 23 

THE GATEWAY, • . 24 

New purchase of land of Stone and Cutter, . . 27 

Mortgage, 27 

First investment of funds, 27 

Plan of land anterior to the Cemetery, . . 28 

Size of Mount Auburn, 29 

Right of drainage through J. Coolidge's land, . 29 
Kegulations of admission to the Cemetery, . . .29 

First and subsequent catalogues 30 

Separation from the Horticultural Society, . . 31 

New Corporation of Proprietors, . . . . 32 

Missing Records, 33 

Organization, . . . . . . . . 34 

Death of George W. Brimmer, 35 

Gratuitous appropriations of land prohibited, . 37 
Number of Trustees increased to ten, . . . .38 

Death of George Bond, . . . . . . 38 

Repair fund instituted, 39 

Water surveys, 39 

Judge Story's Report on improvements, . . .40 

IRON FENCE, . 48 

Wooden palisade fence, 60 

Death of Judge Story, 50 

Statue of Dr. Bowditch, 62 



CONTENTS. IX 

PAGE 

Drainage op Mount Auburn, 53 

THE CHAPEL, 54 

non-fulfilbient of terms of contract, . . .50 

Re-construction op Chapel, 58 

Well House, . 59 

THE TOWER 59 

Prospect from the summit, 61 

THE STATUES, . . • 62 

Dr. Bigelow's Report, 62 

Appropriations for statues, 67 

Statue op Judge Story, 69 

Contracts signed for three other statues, . . 71 

Unsuccessful movement to rescind these contracts, . 72 

Artists employed, 72 

Quarter lots authorized, 73 

Special police provided, 73 

Water courses, ponds, hollows, etc., . . . .73 

Lawn, 74 

Miss Loring's purchase, 74 

Land made near the Chapel, 75 

Superintendent's House, ...... 76 

Gate-keeper and Superintendent's Clerk, ... 77 

Gardener, 77 

Ornamental shrubs, etc., 78 

STONE FARM, 78 

Harvard College Lot, 80 

Death of Mr. Bangs, 81 

Statue of Rev. H. Ballou, 81 

Death of Mr. Gould, 82 

PERMANENT FUND, 83 

Annual Report, Jan. 1, 1856, 90 



X CONTENTS, 

PAGE 

Annual Report, Jan. 1, 1857, 97 

Annual Report, Jan. 1, 1858, 103 

Annual Report, Jan. 1, 1859, 108 

Settlement with the Horticultural Society, . . 108 

CAUTIONARY SUGGESTIONS, 117 

Avenues and paths, 118 

Trees, 119 

Gravel, 122 

Future annexations, 123 

Permanent fund, 123 

Economy, 124 

Space about buildings, 126 

Interment, ...•..♦. 128 

Tombs and catacombs, 129 



PART II. 

^ PAGB 

Mr. Everett's printed Address, 133 

Judge Story's consecration Address, . . . 143 

Gen. Dearborn's Report, . . . . ' . . 168 

Dr. Bigelow's Discourse, 175 

Judge Story's annual Report, 196 

Mr. Pierpont's consecration Hymn, .... 204 

Act of incorporation, 1835, 205 

Additional act, 1850, 216 

Act relating to the Horticultural Society, 1831, . 217 

Additional act, 1859, 220 

BY-LAWS, 221 

Proprietors and privileges, 221 

Meetings, 221 

Trustees and Officers, 222 



CONTENTS. XI 

PAGE 

President, . . . , 223 

Secretaky, - . . . . . 224 

Treasurer, . . • 224 

Superintendent, 225 

Superintendent's cliork, 227 

Gate-keeper, 227 

Gardener, 227 

Committees, 228 

Committee on fixanc::;, ....... 228 

Committee on lots, 229 

Committee on grounds 230 

Committee on regulations and records of interments, 230 

Interments, 230 

Lots and spaces, . • 231 

Public lots, 233 

Sales and conveyances, ^ 233 

Lots of deceased proprietors, 235 

Plans and portfolios, 236 

Trees, 237 

Tombs, 238 

Catacombs, 238 

Receiving tombs, 238 

Monuments, stones, fences, etc., 239 

Appropriations, 239 

Collection and payment of money, .... 240 

Repair fund, 240 

Admittance 242 

Funerals, . 244 

Alterations of by-i^^ws, 244 



XU CONTENTS. 



APPENDIX. 

PAGB 

Forms for conveyance of lots, 245 

Regulations concerning visitors, 252 

Officers from 1831 to 1860, 255 

Directory to avenues and paths, 257 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

View of the Tower from the South West, Frontispiece. 

Map of Mount Auburn with a View of the Gate, . 21 

^ Land of Mount Auburn previously to 1832, . . 28 

^ Chapel in Front, 53 

• View from the Lawn, 57 

• View from Consecration Dell, 59 



PART I. 



HISTORY OF MOUNT AUBURN. 



HISTORY 



OF 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 



About the year 1825 my attention was drawn 
to some gross abuses in the rites of sepulture as 
they then existed under churches and in other 
receptacles of the dead in the city of Boston. At 
the same time, a love of the country, cherished by 
the character of my earlier pursuits, had long led 
me to desire the institution of a suburban ceme- 
tery, in which the beauties of nature should, as 
far as possible, relies e from their repulsive features 
the tenements of the deceased ; and in which, at 
the same time, soriie consolation to survivors might 
be sought 'n gratifying, as far as possible, the last 
social ard kindred instincts of our nature. 

With these views I requested, in that year, a 
meeting of a few gentlemen at my house in 
Summer Street, to see what measures might be 
1 



HISTORY OF 



thought desirable and practicable for promoting an 
object of such a character. This original meeting 
was attended by Messrs. John Lowell, William 
Sturgis, George Bond, Thomas W. Ward, John 
Tappan, Samuel P. Gardiner, Nathan Hale, and 
Jacob Bigelow. Other gentlemen invited ex- 
pressed their concurrence in the design, but did 
not attend the meeting. A plan for a cemetery, 
corresponding to what Mount Auburn now is, 
composed of family burial lots, separated and 
interspersed with trees, shrubs, and flowers, in a 
wood or landscape garden, was submitted by me, 
and received with approval by the persons present. 
A committee, consisting of Messrs. Bond and 
Tappan, was appointed, to look out for a tract of 
ground suitable for the desired purpose, and the 
meeting was dissolved. This committee fixed their 
attention on an estate in Brookline, which after- 
wards proved to be unattainable, and here the sub- 
ject rested, without definitive action, for several 
years. 

In the meantime the enterprise, although de- 
layed, was not abandoned. Inquiries continued 
to be made, and negotiations attempted for various 
tracts of land advantageously situated in the 
neighborhood of Boston. Overtures were twice 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 6 

made by me to Mr. Augustus Aspinwall for the 
then beautiful estate held by his family north of 
the spot where the Episcopal Church now stands 
in Brookline. As proximity to the city was con- 
sidered desirable, negotiations were also attempted 
by Mr. Bond and myself, for land on either side 
of the Western Avenue, on the branch leading to 
the Punch Bowl. These negotiations, as well as 
others, failed, either from the high price at which 
the land was held, or from the reluctance of the 
owners to acquiesce in the use proposed to be made 
of the premises. 

A tract situated in Cambridge and Watertown, 
then known as " Stone's Woods," and more famil- 
iarly to the college students as " Sweet Auburn," 
had been sold about this time, and purchased by 
Mr. George W. Brimmer, — a gentleman whose 
just appreciation of the beautiful in nature had 
prompted him to preserve from destruction the 
trees and other natural features of that attractive 
spot. He afterwards enlarged the original pur- 
chase by adding to it several pieces of front land, 
intervening between the wood and the public road, 
on which the gate now stands. 

Having often visited Sweet Auburn, both in 
company with Mr. Brimmer, and anteriorly to his 



HISTORY OF 



purchase, I now proposed to him, in 1830, the 
purchase of the whole lot for an ornamental ceme- 
tery, like that in contemplation, provided a suffi- 
cient number of subscribers could be obtained to 
cover the expense. Mr. Brimmer acceded to this 
proposal, and, although the land had risen in value, 
and could probably have been sold to private pur- 
chasers, at no distant period, for a large advance, 
he liberally gave me the refusal, for an object of 
public benefit, at the original cost to himself. He 
afterwards became one of the most active members 
of the first Committee, or Board of Managers. 

In the preceding year, 1829, the Massachusetts 
Horticultural Society had been incorporated by 
the Legislature. Among the first officers chosen 
were Gen. H. A. S. Dearborn, President ; Zebedee 
Cook, Vice-President ; and Jacob Bigelow, Corre- 
sponding Secretary. At that time there was no 
ornamented rural cemetery, deserving of notice, in 
the United States, and none even in Europe, of a 
plan and magnitude correspondmg to those which 
Mount Auburn possesses at the . present time. 
Moreover, the subject was new, the public were 
lukewarm, and, in many cases, the prejudices and 
apprehensions of the community were strongly 
opposed to the removal of the dead from the imme- 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. O 

diate precincts of populous cities and villages to 
the solitude of a distant wood. There seemed 
little doubt that, if these prejudices were to be 
overcome, it would be best done by enlisting in 
favor of a change, the co-operation of a young, 
active, and popular society. Under this conviction 
I brought before the officers of tlie Horticultural 
Society the assent of Mr. Brimmer to sell, for a 
public cemetery, under suitable conditions, the 
estate which has since become Mount Auburn.* 
The proposition was favorably received ; and, as 
the society was at that time destitute of funds ade- 
quate to the purchase, measures were taken to see 
if a subscription could be obtained, from private 
individuals, sufficient to cover the price of the 
land. And, in pursuance of this object, meetings 
were held of persons favorably disposed to the 
establishment of a cemetery, under the auspices of 
the Horticultural Society. 

The first meetino; on this basis was called at the 
Exchange Coffi^e House, Nov. 23, 1830, on an 

* See the Histories of Mount Auburn, b^ Thacher & Walter; 
also Gen. Dearborn's Account, published with Dr. Harris' Ad- 
dress before the Horticultural Society, in 1832 ; also the Boston 
Daily Advertiser, Sept. 9th, 1851, and Boston Atlas, Sept 16th, 
1851. 



b HISTORY OF 

informal notification signed by Jacob Bigelow and 
John C. Gray. At this meeting the offer of Mr. 
Brimmer to sell Sweet Auburn was announced, 
and a committee was appointed, consisting of Gen. 
Dearborn, Dr. Bigelow, Edward Everett, George 
Bond, J. C. Gray, Abbott Lawrence, and G. W. 
Brimmer, to take measures for bringing the sub- 
ject before the public, and insuring a future and 
larger meeting. To accommodate the wishes of 
the horticulturists, an experimental garden for 
the cultivation of flowers, fruits, &c., was ordered 
to form a part in the proposed allotment of the 
ground about to be purchased. This garden, how- 
ever, from the want of specific funds for its sup- 
port, and from various other causes, never went 
into operation.* 

During the following winter and spring nothing 
was done in promotion of the design, except that, 

* In Gen. Dearborn's Account, alluded to in the preceding 
note, he says : — •' Soon after the organization of the Horticul- 
tural Society he (Dr. Bigelow) suggested to the President the 
expediency of combining a cemetery with an experimental gar- 
den." This statement, in part only, is correct. The Cemetery 
■was suggested by Dr. Bigelow, but the experimental garden 
was a suggestion of other officers and members of the Horticul- 
tural Society. 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. i 

as the season opened, many individuals were in- 
duced to visit Sweet Auburn, and to become 
acquainted with the scenery and natural advan- 
tages of the spot. Articles explanatory and pro- 
motive of the design also appeared in various 
newspapers. On the eighth of June, 1831, the 
committee who had the subject in charge called a 
larger meeting of gentlemen, favorably disposed to 
the enterprise, at the Horticultural Society's room, 
in Joy's Building. At this meeting, which was 
well attended, Judge Story was called to the 
Chair, and Edward Everett officiated as Secre- 
tary. Much interest in the design was expressed 
by various speakers, and it was voted expedient to 
purchase the estate offered by Mr. Brimmer, — 
containing about seventy-two acres, — at six thou- 
sand dollars, in behalf of the Horticultural Society, 
as soon as one hundred subscribers for cemetery 
lots, at sixty dollars each, should be obtained. A 
committee of twenty was appointed, with instruc- 
tions, to report early on a general plan of proceed- 
ing, of which committee the following gentlemen 
were chosen members : — Messrs. Joseph Story, 
Daniel Webster, H. A. S. Dearborn, Charles 
Lowell, Samuel Appleton, Jacob Bigelow, Edward 
Everett, George W. Brimmer, George Bond, A. 



8 HISTORY OF 

H. Everett, Abbott Lawrence, James T. Austin, 
Franklin Dexter, Joseph P. Bradlee, Charles 
Tappan, Charles P. Curtis, Zebedee Cook, John 
Pierpont, L. M. Sargent, and George W. Pratt. 
By this committee subscription papers were put in 
circulation, and, in a short time, it was found that 
three quarters of the requisite amount had been 
obtained. The remainder was afterwards pro- 
cured, chiefly by the exertions of Mr. Joseph P. 
Bradlee, one of the Committee. The report of 
the Committee to the society, which was accepted, 
was as follows ; — 

" The Committee of the Horticultural Society, 
to whom was referred the method of raising: sub- 
scriptions for the Experimental Garden and Ceme- 
tery, beg leave to Report : — 

1. That it is expedient to purchase for a 
Garden and Cemetery, a tract of land, com- 
monly known by the name of Sweet Auburn, 
near the road leading from Cambridge to Water- 
town, containing about seventy-two acres, for 
the sum of six thousand dollars ; provided this 
sum can be raised in the manner proposed in the 
second article of this Report. 

2. That a subscription be opened for lots of 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. \) 

ground in the said tract, containing not less than 
two hundred square feet each, at the price of 
sixty doUars for each lot, — the subscription not 
to be bindino; until one hundred lots are sub- 
scribed for. 

3. That when a hundred or more lots are 
taken, the right of choice shall be disposed of 
at an auction, of which seasonable notice shall 
be given to the subscribers. 

4. That those subscribers, who do -not offer a 
premium for the right of choosing, shall have 
their lots assigned to them by lot. 

5. That the fee of the land shall be vested in 
the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, but that 
the use of the lots, agreeably to an act of the 
Legislature, respecting the same, shall be secured 
to the subscribers, their heirs, and assigns, for- 
ever. 

6. That the land devoted to the purpose of 
a Cemetery shall not contain less than forty 
acres. 

7. That every subscriber, upon paying for his 
lot, shall become a member for life, of the Massa- 
chusetts Horticultural Society, without being 
subject to assessments. 

8. That a Garden and Cemetery Committee, 



10 



HISTORY OF 



of nine persons, shall be chosen annually, first by 
the subscribers, and afterwards by the Horticul- 
tural Society, whose duty it shall be to cause the 
necessary surveys and allotments to be made, to 
assign a suitable tract of land for the Garden of 
the Society, and to direct all matters appertaining 
to the regulation of the Garden and Cemetery ; 
and five at least of this Committee shall be per- 
sons having rights in the Cemetery. 

9. That the establishment, including the Gar- 
den and Cemetery, be called by a definite name, 
to be supplied by the Committee." 

At a meeting of subscribers, called August 
8d, 1831, it appeared that one hundred lots in the 
Cemetery, had, at that time, been taken by sub- 
scription ; and that, therefore, agreeably to the 
terms, the subscription had become obligatory. 
The following gentlemen were then chosen to 
constitute a board of managers under the name of 
the Garden and Cemetery Committee : — Messrs. 
Joseph Story, Henry A. S. Dearborn, Jacob 
Bigelow, Edward Everett, George W. Brimmer, 
George Bond, Charles Wells, Benjamin A. 
Gould, and George W. Pratt. At the same 
time it was resolved that a public religious con- 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 11 

secration should be held upon the grounds, and 
the following gentlemen were appointed a Com- 
mittee to make arrangements for that purpose : — 
Messrs. Joseph Story, Henry A. S. Dearborn, 
Charles P. Curtis, Charles Lowell, Zebedee 
Cook, Jr., Joseph T. Buckingham, George W. 
Brimmer, George W. Pratt, and Z. B. Adams. 

At a meeting of the Garden and Cemetery 
Committee, August 8th, it was voted that Gen- 
eral Dearborn, Dr. Bigelow, and Mr. Brimmer, 
be a Sub-Committee to procure an accurate topo- 
graphical survey of Mount Auburn, and to report 
a plan for laying it out into lots. This Sub-Com- 
mittee eno;ao;ed the services of Mr. Alexander 
Wadworth, Civil Engineer, with whose assistance 
they completed the duty assigned to them. 

The public religious consecration of the Ceme- 
tery took place on Saturday, September 24th, 
1831. A temporary amphitheatre was fitted up 
with seats, in one of the deep valleys of the wood, 
having a platform for the speakers erected at the 
bottom. An audience of nearly two thousand 
persons were seated among the trees, adding a 
scene of picturesque beauty to the impressive 
solemnity of the occasion. The order of per- 
formances was as follows : — 



12 HISTORY OF 

1. Instrumental Music, by the Boston Band. 

2 Introductory Prayer, by Rev. Dr. Ware. 

HYMN,* 

Written by the Rey. Mr. Pierpont. 

4. ADDRESS, 

By the Hon. Joseph Story,! 

5. Concluding Prayer, by the Rev. Mr. Pierpont. 

6. Music by the Band. 

The following account of the scene is taken 
from the Boston Courier of the time : — 

" An unclouded sun and an atmosphere purified 
by the showers of the preceding night, combined 
to make the day one of the most delightful we 
ever experience at this season of the year. It is 
unnecessary for us to say that the address by 
Judge Story was pertinent to the occasion, for if 
the name of the orator were not sufficient, the 
perfect silence of the multitude, enabling him to 
be heard with distinctness at the most distant 
part of the beautiful amphitheatre in which the 
services were performed, will be sufficient testi- 
mony as to its worth and beauty. Neither is it 
in our power to furnish any adequate description 
of the effect produced by the music of the thou- 

* See Part II. t See Part II. 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 13 

sand voices wliicli joined in the liymn, as it 
swelled in chastened melody from the bottom of 
the glen, and, like the spirit of devotion, found 
an echo in every heart, and pervaded the whole 
scene. 

The natural features of Mount Auburn are 
incomparable for the purpose to which it is now 
sacred. There is not in all the untrodden valleys 
of the West, a more secluded, more natural or 
appropriate spot for the religious exercises of the 
living ; we may be alloAved to add our doubts 
whether the most opulent neighborhood of Europe 
furnishes a spot so singularly appropriate for a 
' Garden of Graves.' 

In the coui'se of a few years, when the hand 
of Taste shall have passed over the luxuriance 
of Nature, we may challenge the rivalry of the 
world to produce another such abiding place for 
the spirit of beauty. Mount Auburn has been 
but little known to the citizens of Boston ; but 
it has now become holy ground, and 

Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain, 

— a village of the quick and the silent, where Na- 
ture throws an air of cheerfulness over the labors 
of Death, — will soon be a place of more general 



14 



HISTORY OF 



resort, both for ourselves and for strangers, than 
any other spot in the vicinity. Where else shall 
we go with the musings of Sadness, or for the 
indulgence of Grief; where to cool the burning 
brow of Ambition, or relieve the swelling heart 
of Disappointment ? We can find no better spot, 
for the rambles of curiosity, health or pleasure ; 
none sweeter, for the whispers of aflPection among 
the living ; none lovelier, for the last rest of our 
kindred." 



The following is the contemporaneous descrip- 
tion published by order of the Committee, in the 
appendix to Judge Story's address : — 

" The tract of land which received the name of 
Mount Auburn, is situated on the southerly side of 
the main road leading from Cambridge to Water- 
town, and is partly within the limits of each of 
those towns. Its distance from Boston is about 
four miles. The place was formerly known by the 
name of Stone's Woods, the title to most of the 
land having remained in the family of Stone, from 
an early period after the settlement of the country. 
Within a few years, previous to the date of the 
consecration, the hill and part of the woodland 
had been offered for sale, and were purchased by 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 15 

George W. Brimmer, Esq., whose object was to 
prevent the destruction of the trees, and to preserve 
so beautiful a spot for some public or appropriate 
use. The purchase which has now been made 
by the Horticultural Society, includes between 
seventy and eighty acres, extending from the 
road, nearly to the banks of Charles River. A 
portion of the land situated next to the road, and 
now under cultivation, is intended to constitute 
the Experimental Garden of the Horticultural 
Society. A long water-course extending between 
this tract and the interior woodland, forms a 
natural boundary, separating the two sections. 
The inner portion, which is set apart for the 
purposes of a Cemetery, is covered throughout 
most of its extent with a vio-orous growth of 
forest trees, many of them of large size, and 
comprising an unusual variety of kinds. This 
tract is beautifully undulating in its surface, con- 
taining a number of bold eminences, steep ac- 
clivities, and deep shadowy valleys. A remarkable 
natural ridge with a level surface runs through 
the ground from the south-east to north-west, and 
has for many years been known as a secluded and 
favorite walk. The principal eminence, called 
Mount Auburn in the plan, is one hundred and 



16 HISTORY OF 

twenty-five feet above the level of Charles River, 
and commands from its summit one of the finest 
prospects which can be obtained in the environs 
of Boston. On one side is the city in full view, 
connected at its extremities with Charlestown and 
Roxbury. The serpentine course of Charles 
River, with the cultivated hills and fields rising 
beyond it, and having the Blue Hills of Milton 
in the distance, occupies another portion of the 
landscape. The village of Cambridge, with the 
venerable edifices of Harvard University, are 
situated about a mile to the eastward. On the 
north, at a very small distance. Fresh Pond ap- 
pears, a handsome sheet of water, finely diversi- 
fied by its woody and irregular shores. Country 
seats and cottages seen in various directions, and 
especially those on the elevated land at Water- 
town, add much to the picturesque effect of the 
scene. It is proposed to erect on the summit of 
Mount Auburn, a Tower, after some classic model, 
of sufficient height to rise above the tops of the 
surrounding trees. This w^ill serve the double 
purpose of a landmark to identify the spot from a 
distance, and of an observatory commanding an 
uninterrupted view of the country around it. 
From the foot of this monument will be seen in 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 17 

detail the features of tlie landscape, as tliey are 
successively presented through the different vistas 
which have been opened among the trees ; while 
from its summit, a magnificent and unbroken 
panorama, embracing one of the most delightful 
tracts in New England, will be spread out be- 
neath the eye. Not only the contiguous country, 
but the harbor and bay of Boston, with their 
ships and islands, and, in a clear atmosphere, 
the distant mountains of Wachusett, and proba- 
bly even of Monadnbck, will be comprehended 
within the range of vision. 

The grounds of the Cemetery have been laid 
out with intersectincr avenues, so as to render 
every part of the woods accessible. These aven- 
ues are curved and variously winding in their 
course, so as to be adapted to the natural in- 
equalities of the surface. By this arrangement, 
the greatest economy of the land is produced, 
combining at the same time the picturesque effect 
of landscape gardening. Over the more level 
portions, the avenues are about twenty feet wide, 
and are suitable for carriage roads. The more 
broken and precipitous parts are approached 
by foot-paths, about six feet in width. These 
passage-ways are to be smoothly gravelled and 
2 



18 HISTORY OF 

planted on both sides with flowers and ornamental 
shrubs. Lots of ground, containing each three 
hundred square feet, are set off, as family burial 
places, at suitable distances on the sides of the 
avenues and paths. The perpetual right of inclos- 
ing and of using these lots as places of sepulture, 
is conveyed to the purchasers of them, by the 
Horticultural Society. It is confidently expected 
that many of the proprietors will, without delay, 
proceed to erect upon their lots such monuments 
and appropriate structures as will give to the 
place a part of the solemnity and beauty which 
it is destined ultimately to acquire. 

It has been voted to procure, or construct, a 
receiving tomb in Boston, and another at Mount 
Auburn, at which, if desired, funerals may ter- 
minate, and in which the remains of the deceased 
may be deposited, until such time as the friends 
shall choose to direct their removal to the Ceme- 
tery ; this period, however, not to exceed six 
months. 

The principal entrance to Mount Auburn will 
be through a lofty Egyptian gateway, which it is 
proposed to erect on the main road, at the com- 
mencement of the Central Avenue. Another 
entrance or gateway is provided on the cross- 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 19 

road at the eastern foot of the hill. Whenever 
the funds of the corporation shall justify the ex- 
pense, it is proposed that a small Grecian or Gothic 
Temple shall be erected on a conspicuous eastern 
eminence, which in reference to this allotment has 
received the prospective name of Temple Hill.* 

As the designation and conveyance of the lots 
requires that they should be described with refer- 
ence to places bearing fixed appellations, it has 
been found necessary to give names to the avenues, 
foot-paths, hills, &c. The names which have been 
adopted, were suggested chiefly by natural objects 
and obvious associations. Taken in connection 
with the printed plan, they will be found sufficient 
to identify any part of the ground, without the 
probability of mistake." 



The avenues and paths of Mount Auburn 
were laid out by a Sub-Committee, consisting of 
Messrs. Dearborn, Bigelow, and Brimmer. They 
were made, as far as possible, to conform to the 
natural face of the ground. Curved or winding 
courses were generally adopted, both for pic- 
turesque effect, and for easy approach to the 
various lots. The avenues for carriages were made 

* Now occupied by lots. The Chapel is placed elsewhere. 



20 HISTORY OF 

about eigliteen feet wide, but the footpaths about 
five feet ; the lots being set back six feet from the 
path or avenue. The standard or minimum size 
of a lot, necessary to constitute the owner a 
proprietor in the Corporation, was fixed by the 
Trustees at not less than three hundred square 
feet, or twenty feet by fifteen, which size has 
never been changed. 

The labor of clearing the avenues, &c., and 
grading the ground, occupied most of the season. 
Gen. Dearborn zealously devoted himself nearly 
the whole of this time to the examination of the 
ground, the laying out of roads, and superintend- 
ing the workmen. He also transplanted from his 
own nurseries a large collection of healthy, young 
forest trees, which he distributed through the 
entire front of the Cemetery. A part of these have 
since been moved and re-arranged, constituting 
one of the most beautiful ornaments of the place. 
On this occasion, the Garden and Cemetery Com- 
mittee, on motion of Mr. Brimmer, Dec. 2d, 
1831,— 

Voted, — " That, in consideration of the very 
acceptable services rendered by Gen. Dearborn, 
at Mount Auburn, and for the assiduity he has 
manifested in carrying into effect the purposes and 



1 1,' o/^' feet. 

' ~' ' '■ 

300 -tOff 50l> 



^ 

^M^^, 



;2^ 



<^-/ 



.^. 









i^m 



i:S^mTti 



&F 



PiiT AUBUF 



^'IHW^* 



!J 



FRONT GATS 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 21 

designs of the Committee, that the lot selected by 
him in the grounds appropriated to the Cemetery, 
be presented to him, in behalf of the proprietors, 
and that the same shall be conveyed to him and 
his heirs in the manner prescribed by the Rules 
and Regulations of the Association, as a gratuity, 
and that Mr. Cook be requested to notify him of 
the same." 

At a meeting of the Garden and Cemetery 
Committee, Nov. 3d, 1831, it was voted that Dr. 
Bigelow be authorized to have a plan of the ground 
lithographed, and to give names to such ponds, 
avenues, or places as require them; also to alter 
any names now affixed. In the execution of this 
commission, similar to one previously ordered by 
the sub-committee, the names of trees, shrubs, and 
plants were mostly adopted, to distinguish the 
paths and avenues, and this method has since 
been followed, with occasional deviations, made to 
gratify the desire of parties interested. A plan of 
IMount Auburn, by Mr. Alexander Wadsworth, 
was at this meeting submitted and accepted, and 
afterwards lithographed on a reduced scale. 

At the same meeting it was voted to permit 
single interments to be made in the ground by 
persons not proprietors. The inclosure, since called 



iVm/,- „/' frrr 




i -av 



/I A' .1/ 



22 HISTORY OF 



St. James' lot, on Cypress Avenue, was sliortly 
after set off for the purpose, and inclosed with a 
slight fence. At a more recent period, after this 
repository had ' become full, another inclosure, 
called St. John's lot, was laid out on Fir Avenue, 
in 1848. The original charge for single interments 
was ten dollars, which was afterwards increased to 
twelve, with an additional charge of fifty cents for 
a stone bearing a number corresponding with the 
name of the occupant recorded in a book kept for 
the purpose. Adopted Sept. 1st, 1856. 

About one hundred lots having been surveyed, 
it was voted, in 1831, to offer at auction to pro- 
prietors, for a premium, the right of choice among 
the lots laid out. Liberal bids were made at this 
auction, and a considerable sum was the result. 
The largest bid was $100, by Mr. Samuel Apple- 
ton, and the next, $50, by Mr. Benjamin Adams. 
The whole proceeds of the sale, after deducting 
auction expenses, as it appears from the Treasurer's 
books, were $944.92. 

The original price of lots was sixty dollars for 
three hundred square feet, being twenty cents per 
foot ; and a certain number of lots w^ere kept sur- 
veyed, in anticipation of sales, at this price. But 
it was voted, Nov. 3d, 1831, that, "if an applicant 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 23 

choose to have a new lot assigned to hun, the 
Committee may, if they see fit, assign to him a 
new lot, on his paying ten dollars additional to his 
former dues." The addition was afterwards in- 
creased to $20. The price of a surveyed lot was 
increased, in 1834, to |65 ; in 1836, to $80 ; in 
1844, to 1100 ; and in 1854, to |150, — at which 
it now remains, with the exception that for certain 
choice lots a higher price is required. This pro- 
gressive increase of price has heen founded on the 
increased value of the Cemetery, and the differ- 
ence in interest to early purchasers. 

March 6, 1832. A suhscription having been 
raised, by ladies in Boston, for the purpose of 
erecting a monument to Miss Hannah Adams, it 
was voted that the Committee on Surveys appro- 
priate a portion of land for the purpose of deposit- 
ing her remains; and, Sept. 2d, the Treasurer was 
ordered to pay f 35 for an iron fence around her 
monument. This was the first monument erected 
in Mount Auburn Cemetery. The first interment 
was that of a child of Mr. James Boyd, on Moun- 
tain Avenue, July 6th, 1832. The second was 
tliat of Mrs. Mary Hastings, July 12th, of the 
same year. 

May — , 1832. Messrs. Cook & Bond were a 



24 HISTORY OF 

Committee to decide upon the form of a temporary 
fence to enclose the whole ground at Mount Au- 
burn . A contract was soon afterwards made with 
Mr. Leonard Stone to erect a wooden fence, of 
rough sawed pales, for which it appears the 
whole amount paid him was $2,636.65. This 
fence was standing till 1844, when it began to 
be superseded bj the present iron fence. 

THE GATEWAY. 

The funds of the Corporation being thought 
adequate to the erection of a wooden gateway, 
with some reference to ornament, at a meeting of 
the Garden and Cemetery Committee, Sept 1st, 
1832, it was voted, — " That the model for a gate- 
way and lodges, produced by Dr. Bigelow, be 
adopted, and that Gen. Dearborn, Dr. Bigelow, 
and Mr. Brimmer, be a Committee to cause the 
gate and lodges to be constructed of wood agree- 
ably to said model." This model was intended as 
a pattern for a corresponding structure, to be after- 
wards executed in stone, when the Corporation 
should be able to meet the expense. A contract 
was made with Mr. M. P. Brazee, of Cambridge- 
port, to build a gate on this plan for $1,366. This 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 25 

wooden gate, painted in imitation of granite, stood 
until 1842, when, at a meeting of the Trustees, 
Sept. 27th, and in pursuance of the Report of a 
Committee of the Trustees, it was voted, — "That 
the Committee on Lots — Messrs. Bigelow, Curtis, 
and Parker — be empowered to contract with 
Octavius T. Rogers, of Quincy, for the building 
of a granite gateway at Mount Auburn, and to 
pay for the same nine thousand five hundred dol- 
lars." The Report alluded to provided for the 
reproduction, in stone, of a gate and lodges having 
" substantially the same form, model, and dimen- 
sions as the present (wooden) gate and lodges." 
The Committee, after application to various granite 
contractors in Quincy, had found no one, except 
Mr. Rogers, who would undertake to make and 
raise the cap, or cornice stone, in a single piece. 
Mr. Rogers completed his contract in a prompt 
and satisfactory manner, the stone cap being raised 
to its place with screws on wooden frames. To 
prevent accident to the corners a thick bed of 
mortar was laid on the stone next below it, which 
left, when finished, a large and unseemly joint 
between the two principal stones. The Trustees 
voted, Sept. 16th, not to accept the gate with this 
blemish ; and the mortar was removed by the con- 



26 HISTORY OF 

tractor, witli some difficulty, by sawing it out. 
The gate was then accepted. 

The gate is in the Egyptian style, its height 
being twenty-five feet, and the whole length, 
mcluding the lodge, sixty feet. The piers or posts 
are four feet square, the entrance ten feet wide, 
and the greatest length of the cornice twenty-four 
feet. Two obelisks are connected with the two 
lodges by a curved, iron fence. The outline of 
the gate is mostly taken from some of the best 
examples in Denderah and Karnac, in which the 
piers are vertical, and the curve of the cornice 
vertical in its lower half. The banded cylinder, 
the foliage of the cornice, and the winged globe, 
are Egyptian. On the latter a lotus flower is 
turned over, so as to conceal the head of the fabu- 
lous animal with which the ancient examples are 
usually defaced. The size of the stones, and the 
solidity of the structure, entitle it to a stability of 
a thousand years. 

On the outside of the gate is this inscription : 

THEN SHALL THE DUST RETURN 
TO THE EARTH AS IT WAS, 
AND THE SPIRIT SHALL RETURN 
UNTO GOD WHO GAVE IT. 

On the opposite side : 

MOUNT AUBURN CONSECBATED 
SEPTEMBER 24tH, 1831. 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 27 

In a year after the consecration of Mount Au- 
burn Cemetery, the success of the enterprise being 
considered no longer doubtful, it was deemed de- 
sirable to secure the addition of about twenty-four 
acres of land, lying on the westerly side of the 
first purchase, and belonging to David Stone and 
others, and to Ann Cutter. With this view, it was 
voted, Sept. 24th, 1832, that " it is expedient to 
borrow five thousand dollars to be reimbursed, 
with interest, out of the first proceeds of cemetery 
lots, and to be applied to the purchase of land 
Ivino' on the west side of the Garden and Ceme- 
tery, and to the making of improvements in the 
Mount Auburn estate." This is believed to be the 
only instance, in the history of Mount Auburn, of 
a loan being authorized on the part of the Society 
or Corporation. The proposed land was purchased 
on credit, with notes, secured by mortgage, of the 
land acquired, and no lots were sold within it until 
this incumbrance was removed. The Corporation 
thus obtained about twenty-four acres of valuable 
land, the subsequent sale of which has been an im- 
portant element in its prosperity. The balance of 
account soon appeared on the other side, and on 
April 14th, 1836, we find a vote, " that the Treas- 
urer be instructed to invest from five to seven 



28 HISTORY OF 

thousand dollars of the funds of this Corporation 
in some safe and profitable security." Since that 
time the Treasury has never been without a large 
surplus at the end of the year, sometimes amount- 
ing to 140,000, and upwards. 

The accompanying plan, by Mr. Alexander 
Wadsworth, represents the Mount Auburn land 
as it existed previously to 1832. Most of the lots 
laid down had been purchased by Mr. Brimmer, 
at different times, and were, by him, conveyed to 
the Horticultural Society, in a general deed, dated 
Jan. 10th, 1832. But the following additional 
lots were subsequently purchased by the Society 
or Corporation from other parties : The lot, 
marked Cutter, about nine acres, was conveyed 
by Ann Cutter, Oct. 6th, 1832. The lot, marked 
D. Stone, about seventeen acres, by David Stone 
and David Stone, guardian, Jan. 13, 1833. The 
lot, marked Gould, two acres and a quarter, was 
purchased at auction by Mr. Gould, one of the 
Trustees, and by him immediately conveyed to 
the Corporation, Dec. 20, 1844. The " Stone 
Farm," about sixteen acres, was not added till 
1854, when it was conveyed to the Corporation, 
by Mr. J. B. Dana, as hereafter shown. 

By the surveys and estimates of Mr. Wads- 




N^ 



,^ 


O 


< 


in 


^ 


Q 




■=1 


r^- 


X 




UJ 


.Vi 





> 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 29 

worth, it appears that the whole land now owned 
and used as a Cemetery by the Corporation of 
Mount Auburn, is a little short of one hundred 
and thirty acres. Certain parcels situated east of 
the road, which is now called Coolidge Avenue, 
appear to have been conveyed by the Corporation, 
at different times, to Winchester, Brazee, and 
other parties. One piece of low land was con- 
veyed to Josiah Coolidge, in consideration of a 
ditch to be made by him, with the perpetual right 
of drainage through his land to Charles River. 

The subject of admission to the Cemetery has, 
at different times, been a source of perplexity to 
the Trustees. At first, promiscuous admittance 
was allowed to persons on foot, on horseback, and 
in carriages. But, in a short time, great incon- 
venience was felt from the number of persons, in 
pursuit of pleasure, who rode or drove recklessly 
through the grounds, to the detriment of the paths 
and the annoyance of other visitors. At a meet- 
ing, April 10th, 1832, it was voted that "no horses 
or carriages, except those attending on funerals, 
will be admitted into the p-i'ounds of Mount Au- 
burn." On the 29th of the same month this 
measure was modified by a vote " that the pro- 
prietors of lots in the Cemetery be admitted into 



30 HISTORY OF 

the grounds witli their vehicles, and that tickets 
entitlino; them and their families to admission be 
sent to them, which tickets shall not be transfer- 
able, and shall be available for the present year.'* 
Regulations were also prescribed to prevent fast 
driving, and to insure the proper fastening of 
horses, &c. These Regulations have mainly con- 
tinued in force to the present time, except that 
discretionary power has sometimes been given to 
the Gate-keeper to admit strangers ; but the abuse 
of this privilege, and the influx of improper per- 
sons, have caused the Rule to be rescinded, and 
tickets are now required of all persons, except 
foot passengers. 

February 1, 1834. It was voted that Mr. 
Bond and Mr. Curtis be a Committee to prepare 
a Catalogue of lots and proprietors' names for 
publication. This was the first regular Catalogue 
published. Catalogues were afterwards printed in 
1835, 1838, 1841, 1846, and 1857. 

As early as 1834, it became apparent that the 
interests of the Horticultural Society and those of 
the proprietors of Cemetery lots were not identical. 
The question of division of the proceeds of sales 
between two objects, — that of defraying the ex- 
penses of the Society on the one hand, and that 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 31 

of the improvement of Mount Auburn on the 
otlier, — was not always easy of adjustment. On 
the question of legal and moral right, it was found 
that the Horticultural Society held the fee of the 
land, and that to them was due whatever credit 
belonged to the inception of the undertaking. On 
the other hand, it appeared that the number of lot 
holders was rapidly increasing ; that from them 
had been derived most of the funds of the estab- 
lishment ; and that, from their condition of mem- 
bership, they would soon have a controlling vote 
in the affairs of the Society. Considerable warmth 
of feeling was elicited among the advocates of the 
two parties ; and it became evident that a peaceful 
arrangement was not likely to be made, except by 
a sale of Mount Auburn, by the Horticultural 
Society, to a new Corporation, to be composed of 
the holders of lots. 

For this purpose a Committee was appointed, 
consisting of Judge Story, Messrs. Charles P. 
Curtis, Elijah Yose, and INIarshall P. Wilder. 
This Committee held several somewhat excited 
sessions without arriving at any agreement, and 
were near breaking up their conference without 
any practical result, when a compromise appears 
to have been effected by the conciliatory efforts of 



32 HISTORY OF 

Mr. Wilder, one of tlie Committee, and the par- 
ties came to an agreement of the following hasis, 
mainly : that the proceeds of all sales of lots shall 
be divided annually between the Horticultural 
Society and the new Corporation in such manner 
that, after deducting fourteen hundred dollars for 
the expenses of the Cemetery, then one fourth part 
of the gross proceeds should be paid to the Horti- 
cultural Society, and the remaining three fourths 
should be retained by the Mount Auburn Cor- 
poration for its own use. The result of this 
amicable arrangement, afterwards duly accepted 
and ratified, has been highly auspicious to both 
parties concerned. The Horticultural Society has 
become opulent and prosperous, as it is useful to 
the public ; while the proprietors of Mount Auburn 
have been able to expend nearly three hundred 
thousand dollars in the preservation, improvement, 
embellishment, and enlargement of their Cemetery. 

Immediate application was made to the Legisla- 
ture for an act incorporating the proprietors of the 
Cemetery, and a deed of conveyance, in which 
were recited the conditions of the act, was after- 
wards made out from the Horticultural Society to 
the newly incorporated proprietors. 

It is somewhat remarkable that, at the date of 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. bS 

these important transactions, a gap of more than 
three months appears in the records of the time. 
Neither the record books of the Horticultural 
Society, of the Garden and Cemetery Committee, 
nor of the Proprietors of Mount Auburn, contain 
the names of the Committee, nor their report to 
the Society. The record book of the Horticul- 
tural Society has the following statement : — " A^ 
report was made on the 23d of January, 1835, by 
Judge Story, to the Horticultural Society, and 
accepted, as appears by the record of that day, 
comprising the agreement finally made between 
these parties. This report cannot be found. In 
its absence, therefore, the views of the parties 
must be sought principally in an act of the Legis- 
lature, of March 31, 1835, and a vote of the 
Society, June 6, 1835, and also in the deed to the 
Mount Auburn Proprietors." At the top of the 
same page it is stated that, " The following por- 
tions of records are mostly taken from the New 
England Farmer, and are entered here in pur- 
suance of a vote passed by the Society." 

The act of incorporation having been assented 

to by the proprietors, under their individual signa- 
tures, a meeting was called by the persons named 
in the act on the 21st of April, 1835, at which the 
3 



34 HISTORY OF 

Hon. John Davis was chosen Moderator, and 
Charles P. Curtis, Esq., Secretary. Judge Story 
was appointed a Committee to prepare such By- 
Laws as he should deem necessary. It was voted 
to proceed to the choice, by ballot, of nine Trus- 
tees, and the following gentlemen were declared 
to be elected, viz. : Joseph Story, Samuel Apple- 
ton, George Bond, Jacob Bigelow, Benjamin A. 
Gould, Charles Brown, Charles P. Curtis, Jamea 
Read, and Joseph P. Bradlee. It was then voted 
that the Trustees be authorized to procure and 
accept a conveyance from the Massachusetts 
Horticultural Society, of all the lands, tenements, 
and personal estate held by them in Cambridge, 
Watertown, or elsewhere, -appertaining to the 
Garden and Cemetery of Mount Auburn. 

At an adjourned meeting, April 23d, 1835, the 
Hon. Joseph Story was chosen President ; George 
Bond, Esq., Treasurer ; and Benjamin R. Curtis, 
Esq., Secretary. The salary of the Secretary 
was fixed at one hundred dollars. Messrs. Bond, 
Bigelow, and C. P. Curtis were appointed a 
Committee on laying out and discontinuing lots. 
Messrs. Story and Curtis were appointed a Com- 
mittee on Regulations concerning visitors, &c. 
IMessrs. Bigelow and Story a Committee to devise 
a seal for the Corporation. 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 35 

In September, 1838, Mr. George W. Brimmer 
died at Florence, in Italy. The following obit- 
uary notice appeared in the Boston Daily Adver- 
tiser of the time : — 

" Although for several years past the subject of 
this notice has been absent, with the exception of 
short intervals, from his home, yet the image of 
his presence, and the sound of his familiar voice, 
seem to us as but of yesterday. A vivid remem- 
brance of our past gratification accompanies and 
enhances the sadness attendant on its loss. 

Mr. Brimmer, after the termination of his 
academical studies, in 1803, directed his attention 
to mercantile pursuits, to which occupation he 
continued attached for several years. But a 
natural and highly cultivated taste for the fine 
arts laid strong claims on his attention and time, 
and to these elegant pursuits he devoted a laro-e 
portion of that leisure which his fortune and posi- 
tion enabled him to command. In painting he was 
both a personal proficient and an accomplished 
connoisseur, distinguished by the chasteness and 
almost the severity of his discriminating taste. 
To architecture he directed a large share of his 
attention, and has left practical results to attest 
the beauty of his conceptions. Trinity Church 



86 HISTORY OF 

and the facade to the Tremont Theatre,* in Bos- 
ton, the Unitarian Church in Plymouth, with 
some other classical structures, are monuments of 
his ffenius and the nice discernment which he 
possessed of fitness in art. 

The public spirit of Mr. Brimmer has, on 
various occasions, been conspicuously manifested 
in provisions for the general good. When the 
tract of land, now known as Mount Auburn, was, 
many years since, offered at auction sale, it was 
purchased by Mr. Brimmer, and held by him for 
some years, not for his private use or gratification, 
but merely to preserve that beautiful woodland 
from destruction until some appropriate use should 
be found for it. When the plan of an ornamen- 
tal cemetery was first suggested, he liberally 
conveyed the estate for that purpose, at some 
personal sacrifice, and co-operated with activity 
in perfecting a place which is now the acknowl- 
edged pride of our metropolis. 

To the Boston Athenaeum Mr. Brimmer has 
been, for many years, an efficient and active 
friend. The splendid collection of works on the 
fine arts, possessed by that institution, was, in a 

* Afterwards burnt and differently rebuilt. 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 37 

gr^at measure, formed under liis advice and 
assistance. A few months before his death he 
sent out from Europe, as a donation to that 
library, a large number of costly and elegant 
works, selected by himself during his travels on 
the Continent, and previously wanting on the 
shelves of the institution. 

In the society in which he moved, Mr. Brim- 
mer will long be recollected for the friendly spirit, 
and cheerful equanimity, which spoke in his coun- 
tenance and animated his conversation. An un- 
constrained and playful vivacity increased the 
interest of his discourse, which was at all times 
rational, cultivated and intellectual. An extensive 
observer of men and manners, he contributed to 
the entertainment of his friends from the funds of 
a polished mind, stored by travel and experience. 
And although free and independent in the ex- 
pression of his opinions, and uncompromising in 
his estimate of integrity and truth, yet the 
courteousness of his manner, and sincerity of his 
heart, drew around him many friends, who sought 
and enjoyed his society, as they now cherish his 
memory." 

December 22(i, 1838. The Trustees voted that 
it is inexpedient to make gratuitous appropriations 



38 HISTORY OF 

of land for the erection of monuments to distin- 
guish individuals. Previously to this vote land 
had, in several instances, been granted for such 
purposes. 

At the proprietor's meeting, Feb. 4th, 1839, it 
was voted to increase the number of Trustees to 
ten, and the name of Samuel T. Armstrong was 
added to those of the previous Board. This 
arrangement continued till 1841, when the num- 
ber of Trustees was a2;ain reduced to . nine. In 
1856 it was increased to twelve, which number 
still continues. 

In 1842, Mr. George Bond died. He had been 
an active promoter of the enterprise from the ear- 
liest stage of its announcement, — even before 
Sweet Auburn was thought of as its location. 
He had also served the Corporation as Treasurer, 
without compensation, for eleven years. On this 
occasion it was voted by the Trustees, " That the 
President be requested to communicate to the 
family of the late George Bond, Esq., the assur- 
ance of the sincere sympathy of the Trustees in 
their recent bereavement, and to express their 
grateful acknowledgment, on behalf of the pro- 
prietors of the Cemetery, of the faithful and valu- 
able services of their friend and associate, as one 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 39 

of the Founders and Trustees of the Cemetery, 
and as Treas^urer of the Corporation since its 
estabhshment." Mr. Georo^e W. Bond was soon 
after chosen to succeed his father in the office of 
Treasurer. 

July \6th^ 1843. The Trustees voted that all 
sums received from grants or bequests, for the 
purpose of keeping lots in repair, shall form one 
fund, to be called the " Fund for Repairs." This 
vote, after receiving various modifications, in sub- 
sequent years, has been gradually matured into 
what is called the '' Repair Fund " in the printed 
code of By-Laws. 

At the same meetincr a Committee was ordered 
to employ an engineer to ascertain the practicabil- 
ity of bringing water from Fresh Pond to Mount 
Auburn. As the result of this inquiry, it was 
ascertained, by levels and surveys taken by Mr. 
Alexander Wadsworth, that the surface of Fresh 
Pond is several feet lower than the surface of the 
water in most of the ponds in Mount Auburn. 

September 16^A, 1843. A Committee of five — 
Messrs. Story, Bigelow, M. Brimmer, Crockett, 
and Curtis — were ordered to report on " the vari- 
ous improvements wdiich- it may be deemed expe- 
dient to make upon the grounds of the Cemetery." 



40 HISTORY OF 

This appointment gave rise to an elaborate report 
from the Committee, through their Chairman, 
Judge Story, which was presented and accepted 
at the following meeting, Sept. 29th. It is worthy 
to be inserted entire, as it marks a period in which 
it was found that a judicious expenditure of the 
surplus current income of the Corporation, in per- 
manent improvement, had the effect to increase 
the number, and thereby promote the interest, of 
the proprietors. 

REPOUT. 

" The Committee to whom was referred the re- 
port of a Committee on the subject of introducing 
fresh water into the grounds of Mount Auburn, 
with directions to take into consideration the 
various improvements which it may be deemed 
expedient to make there, have had the same under 
their consideration, and respectfully report. That 
by the act of incorporation of the Proprietors 
of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn, the moneys 
which shall arise from the sale of the lots, and 
belong to the Corporation, are required to be 
forever devoted and applied to the preservation, 
improvement, embellishment, and enlargement 
of the said Cemetry and the incidental expenses 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 41 

thereof : — that hitherto these purposes have 
been faithfully adhered to, the grounds have been 
laid out, and paths and avenues have been es- 
tablished, a house with suitable appendages built, 
a temporary gateway erected, and a suitable 
temporary fence inclosing the grounds. During 
the present year a permanent granite gateway 
has been substituted for the former wooden one. 
After deducting all the expenses hitherto incurred, 
including the expense of the granite gateway, 
there will remain at the end of the present year 
in the treasury, according to the statement made 
to the Committee by the treasurer, the sum of 
about twenty-six thousand dollars applicable to 
the general objects contemplated in the act of in- 
corporation. 

It is well known, that among these objects 
there are some which have always from the be- 
ginning of the Cemetery been deemed of primary 
importance, and to which the funds of the Cor- 
poration were designed to be applied as soon as 
any adequate surplus should exist. Indeed these 
objects were held out to tlie original subscribers 
as the main inducements for their patronage and 
encouragement of the enterprise, and without 
them little or no success could have been hoped 



42 HISTORY OF 

for. The Committee, therefore, deem it their 
sacred duty to recommend that these objects 
should be put in a train to secure their entire 
accompKshment as early as the funds of the Cor- 
poration shall enable the Trustees to do so. The 
Committee beg leave to state that the objects to 
which they have alluded, are, 1. The erection of a 
permanent stone or iron fence upon the front 
grounds of the Cemetery, and a hedge fence on 
the remaining three sides thereof, for their due 
protection and security. 2. The draining of the 
low grounds, and the introduction of pure water 
which should run into the grounds and through 
the ponds within the same, into Charles River. 
3. The erection of a suitable granite chapel 
where the religious services for the dead may be 
suitably performed, and which also in the interior 
sides may become the repository of marble busts 
and statues and other sepulchral monuments, 
which may from time to time be placed there by 
liberal benefactors and friends in memory of the 
dead, and which would not bear the exposure of 
the open air in our climate. 4. The erection of 
a granite tower or observatory on the summit of 
Mount Auburn, from which the entire grounds 
of the Cemetery, and the whole range of the 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 43 

adjacent country may be distinctly seen, — these 
objects, in tlie opinion of the Committee, may all 
be attained within a few years by devoting the 
present funds of the Corporation to them, and 
such additional funds as from past experience 
the Committee are justified in believing, will 
unquestionably come into the treasury within the 
same period of years. Which of these objects have 
a priority, or whether all of them should be 
simultaneously undertaken and a proportion of 
the present funds applied pro rata to each, is 
a matter for the ultimate decision of the Trustees ; 
and it is not improbable that for some of these 
objects, private subscriptions may be obtained 
from munificent individuals in aid of such funds 
as the Trustees may devote to the purpose. 

The Committee ask leave to suo-o-est some con- 

CO 

siderations for the deliberation of the Trustees, 
which have occurred to them, and which may 
confirm some of the statements already suggested. 
1. As to a permanent fence. It is believed by 
the Committee that a permanent iron fence, with 
a suitable granite foundation, can be erected of 
a suitable height, on the whole length of the 
Cemetery fronting on the Cambridge and Water- 
town public highway, for an expense not exceed- 



44 HISTORY OF 

ing $17,000. The other three sides of the Ceme- 
tery the Committee propose should be inclosed 
by a hedge of buckthorn or some other shrub 
thickly planted within and near the present 
wooden fence. 

This would, in a few years, with suitable care, 
constitute a substantial and beautiful inclosure, and 
might be done at an expense not exceeding $1000. 

2. As to drainino; the s;rounds and obtain- 
to o 

ing a supply of pure water, the various ponds 
may be made to communicate with each other, 
and the stagnant water be drawn off from 
the same by suitable ditches, so as ultimately to 
pass through the low ground into Charles River. 
The ponds can then be excavated, and the mate- 
rial obtained therefrom be applied to fertilize the 
ground on the borders of the Cemetery, and good 
gravel bottoms be substituted in the ponds, or if 
deemed necessary, or expedient, the ponds can be 
partially filled up or narrowed in their area. The 
Committee estimate the expense of accomplishing 
this part of the plan at not exceeding $3000. 

In respect to the conveying of pure water into 
the grounds, the Committee are aware of some 
difficulty. The most probable source of supply 
is from Fresh Pond, by means of an apparatus 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 45 

to raise the water above the level of the pond in 
the Cemetery, and then to conduct it through 
the intermediate lands into the Cemetery arid 
thence to Charles River. To accomplish this 
object some legislative action will probably be 
necessary, as well as the consent of the proprie- 
tors through whose land the water must pass. 
A survey of the Pond and of those lands has been 
already made, and an estimate of the probable 
expense will be found in the report of the former 
Committee, which has been recommitted to this 
Committee, and to which reference is to be had 
for a more fall undertaking of the project and 
other incidental matters. 

3. The erection of a chapel. The Committee 
deem this a very desirable object. The chapel 
ought, in their opinion, to be built in a chaste 
style and taste, and of the most durable mate- 
rials, and upon a plan which will admit of 
great additions and enlargements at a future 
period without injury to the symmetry and pro- 
portions of the original building, when the relig- 
ious services and the erection of monuments 
therein shall require such additions and enlarge- 
ments. If the chapel should now be erected of a 
suitable height of ashlar granite, it may be lighted 



46 HISTORY OF 

by a dome, or lantern, or skylight on tlie top, and 
the four sides be reserved for busts, and statues, 
and monuments. The accommodations for the 
religious services may be by a moveable pulpit 
and moveable seats to be placed in such positions 
as the occasion may require. The chapel, when 
built, may, if it is thought best to constitute the 
nave or part of the nave of a future church which 
shall become with its future transepts a Latin 
or Greek cross. As has been already suggested, 
private subscriptions may probably be obtained to 
aid in the acccomplishment of this object. Proba- 
bly the whole expense of such a chapel for the 
present purposes of a Cemetery would not exceed 
$5000. 

4. The erection of a tower or observatory. 
It is believed by the Committee that this may be 
accomplished at a very moderate expense, and 
yet be built of the most permanent materials ; 
and it will be a great convenience, and an orna- 
ment to the grounds. A round tower of ashlar 
granite may be built fifty feet higli, and of a 
proper diameter suitable for an easy ascent ^nd 
descent, at an expense not exceeding $7000. 

The Committee are also of opinion, that it is 
unnecessary to reserve out of the present funds 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 47 

of the Corporation a sum exceeding $3000, to 
meet any incidental expenditures of the Cemetery, 
before new funds will accrue ; and it is but a 
just compliance with the known intention of the 
proprietors to appropriate the residue to one or 
more or all the objects already indicated. 

The Committee beg leave to add, that in 
making the appropriations of the funds of the 
Corporation for the purposes aforesaid, they have 
not lost sight of their duty to reserve out 
of the fund which may arise from the sales of 
the lots, a sum sufficient to ensure in perpetuity 
the improvement, preservation, and ornament of 
the Cemetery, and the payment of the incidental 
expenses thereof. They are aware that the 
number of lots which will remain on hand, will 
be every year diminishing, and therefore that it 
will be necessary to make suitable provision to 
meet the time when they can no longer expect to 
realize any new funds. That time, however, 
must be distant, and the lots now on hand are 
more than sufficient to meet all the future ex- 
penditures which may be required for any of the 
purposes to which they have been referred. 

All which is respectfully submitted by the 
Committee. 

Joseph Story, Chairman,''^ 



48 HISTORY OF 

The foregoing report being accepted, the Trus- 
tees voted to proceed at once to the erection " of an 
iron fence on the whole front of the Cemetery, of 
similar construction and character with the portion 
offence now erected, (viz., the curved part next 
the gate) varying in such particulars as the Com- 
mittee may see fit, provided the same can be done 
at an expense not exceeding il5,000, and to be 
completed in three years from the time of the con- 
tract." 

THE IRON FENCE. 

The curved iron fence which forms a part of the 
design of the gateway extending from the lodges 
to the obelisks, and also the whole straight fence 
which encloses the north and east sides, are essen- 
tially Egyptian in their character. The constitu- 
ent parts are selected from among the emblems and 
trophies, which are sculptured on various structures 
extant on the banks of the Nile. The pales of the 
curved fence are ten feet high, and two inches in 
diameter. Those of the residue of the front fence 
are somewhat lighter, being about nine feet high, 
and one inch and seven eighths in diameter. The 
whole is supported on short posts of granite once 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 49 

in ten feet, the tops of which rise a foot and a half 
.^bove the ground, while the bases extend four feet 
under ground, and are three feet in their trans- 
verse diameter at bottom. They have thus a strong 
foothold independent of the earth about them, 
and would continue to stand if this earth were 
removed. 

The trellis bars which support the pales are mor- 
tised into the stone posts and confined by a cement 
of melted sulphur. During the last year it was 
found that the ends of the iron bars were much 
corroded by the action of the acid formed from 
the sulphur and atmospheric oxygen. To arrest 
this destructive process, the mortise holes have been 
filled with Portland cement, by which it is ex- 
pected to neutralize the excess of acid, and protect 
the iron and remaining sulphureous cement from 
further contact with the atmosphere. The fence 
was painted in 1845 and 1851, and not again till 
1859. 

The contract for building the front fence, about 
2470 feet in length, was made, in 1844, with 
Messrs. Adams & Whittredo;e, and Cummino-s & 
Co. for the iron work, and O. T. Rogers for the 
stone posts, for the aggregate sum of $12,400, of 
which the iron cost $9800, and the stone posts, 



50 HISTORY OF 

$2600. A few lengths of return fence on the 
south side were not included in this contract. 

A contract was made, January 5, 1849, with 
Messrs. Bryant & Blaisdell, to erect a palisade or 
wooden fence on the eastern, southern, and western 
sides of the Cemetery, for $1.48 per foot. In con- 
sequence of an application from William P. Win- 
chester, Esq., who offered to contribute $500 to- 
ward the expense, the wooden fence was stopped 
on the east side, or Coolidge Avenue, and an iron 
fence contracted for in its place. The contract 
was made Oct. 18th, 1849, with Messrs. C. W. 
Cummings and G. W. Smith, to build this iron 
fence for 110,300, the length being 1,624 feet. 

The wooden palisade was carried round the south 
and west sides. In the foUowino; winter several 
rods of the pales which had been set in a bog at the 
south-west corner, fell down. They were after- 
wards replaced at a considerable expense by reset- 
ting them on sleepers sunk and secured in the mud. 

1845. This year the country experienced an 
unusual loss in the death of Judge Story. Among 
the objects of attention which filled up the measure 
of his indefatigable life. Mount Auburn had always 
held a place. He was chairman of the first large 
meeting called by the Horticultural Society, and 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 51 

was afterwards President of the corporation of pro- 
prietors for eleven years. He made frequent visits 
to the grounds of the Cemetery, and took great de- 
light in witnessing and promoting their improve- 
ment. When not absent from the State, he was 
punctual in his attendance on the meetings of the 
Trustees, which were often arranged to meet his 
convenience. 

At a meeting of the Trustees, Sept. 12th, 1845, 
the following resolutions were offered by Dr. Bige- 
low, and unanimously adopted : — 

" The Trustees of Mount Auburn Cemetery, 
deeply affected by the event which has taken from 
them their presiding head, and from society one of 
its most beloved and distinguished ornaments, are 
anxious that some suitable memorial should be 
placed in remembrance of his worth, upon a spot 
which was loved and frequented by him in life, 
and to the improvement of which he devoted 
much of his time and ardent interest. 

Therefore voted, that the Trustees offer to the 
friends and fellow citizens of the deceased a place in 
the new Chapel now in the progress of erection at 
Mount Auburn, for the erection of a marble statue 
of Joseph Story, when such a work worthy of the 
character of the original shall have been completed 
through the contributions of the public.'* 



52 HISTORY OF 

It was also voted that a Committee of three be 
appointed to take order as to the statue of Judge 
Story. Messrs. Bigelow, M. Brimmer, and C. P. 
Curtis were appointed to constitute said Committee. 
A further account will be found under the head of 
" Statues," page 68. 

At a meeting of the Trustees, January 31st, 
1848, the following vote was passed: — " Whereas 
the Trustees of the subscribers to the statue of the 
late Dr. Bowditch have paid the customary price 
for the land on which the statue now stands, 
therefore, voted, that all the land included within 
the exterior side of the fence arqund said statue 
be, and the same is hereby appropriated and dedi- 
cated forever to the use and purpose of sustaining 
and protecting the said statue." 

This statue had been erected under difficulties 
from the proceeds of a subscription raised soon 
after the death of Dr. Bowditch, in 1838. The 
Committee having charge of the work had con- 
tracted with Mr. Ball Hughes for a bronze statue 
to be delivered within a certain time. Mr. Hughes 
completed the model, but failed to produce the 
bronze casting. The Committee, after waiting a 
number of years and repeatedly extending the 
time of the contract, at length broke off their 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 53 

negotiation witli Mr. Huglies, and declared the 
contract void. Mr. Huglies, however, persevered, 
and with the assistance of a benevolent friend, at 
length completed an imperfect casting, which the 
subscribers thought proper to accept. Of its 
present condition, an opinion may be formed from 
the following vote of the Trustees, May 10th, 
1853 : — '' Voted, that a Committee of one be 
appointed to cause the statue of Dr. Bowditch to 
be repaired by stopping the holes and painting the 
whole of a bronze color." It is to be hoped that 
this memorial to the memory of a distinguished 
philosopher and citizen, of wdiich the design is 
better than the execution, may be restored, as it 
can only be, by a new casting to be sought from 
those who venerate his memory. 

The drainage of the wet and sunken parts of the 
land has from time to time occupied the attention 
of the Trustees. A tract of wet land called 
Wyeth's Meadow, situated on the north side of the 
Watertown road, is now drained by a culvert 
which passes under the road into the grounds of 
Mount Auburn. The water, which was formerlv 
above the surface, now flows through a large stone 
drain along the easterly side of the lawn^ cross- 
ing Central Avenue, and thence coinciding with 



54 HISTORY OF 

Culvert Avenue along the northerly side of Indian 
Ridge, till it crosses it at a point opposite the 
bridge which has been built over Auburn Lake. 
The cut which has here been made through Indian 
Ridge is intended to constitute a subterranean 
passage, both sides of which will be occupied with 
columbaria, or, as they are here called, catacombs, 
to be built for sale by the Corporation. 

Another stone drain, built in 1843, leads from 
Forest Pond into Auburn Lake. It passes under 
the bend of Willow Avenue, and discharges its 
water in a stream or fall for two thirds of the year 
under a marble shell into the last mentioned lake. 

THE CHAPEL. 

From the time of the foundation of Mount Au- 
burn, a design was entertained and often expressed, 
to erect, as soon as the funds of the Corporation 
should permit it, a chapel or temple which might 
serve as a place for funeral solemnities when de- 
sired, and as a depository for appropriate monu- 
mental works of art. In pursuance of this design, 
after various preliminary discussions, the Trustees 
at their meeting, October 15th, 1844, voted to 
proceed to the erection of such an edifice. It was 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 55 

voted that it be made " of fine hammered Qiiincy 
granite, and that the Building Committee consist of 
Jacob Bigelow, Charles P. Curtis, and James 
Read, with power to sign the contracts on behalf of 
this Corporation, for erecting the chapel at an ex- 
pense not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars." 
As the funds were not at that time adequate to the 
expense of a structure like that contemplated, it 
was voted to solicit a subscription from among the 
proprietors, with a view to supply the deficient 
amount. Judge Story, Dr. Bigelow, and Martin 
Brimmer, Esq., were appointed a Committee for 
this purpose. This Committee made application to 
various public spirited individuals, and obtained 
from them a contribution amounting to nearly 
$7000. Among these, Samuel Appleton and Dr. 
G. C. Shattuck gave $1000 each, and liberal do- 
nations were received from various other persons. 

In selecting a design for the Chapel, the Trus- 
tees applied to a number of the principal architects 
of the city, and received from them half a dozen 
different plans. These were affixed to the wall of 
a room, having the names of the authors concealed. 
Another supernumerary plan by Dr. Bigelow, was 
inserted among the rest. The Trustees, as yet ig- 
norant of the names, proceeded to designate their 



56 HISTORY OF 

preference hy marking. All the Trustees, except 
one, gave their marks for the supernumerary plan, 
and the only dissentient, Mr. M. Brimmer, after- 
wards changed his vote, making the decision unani- 
mous. 

The Building Committee issued their specifica- 
tions, and received proposals from various granite 
workers in Boston and Quincy. The lowest pro- 
posal was that of Messrs. O. T. Rogers and Rich- 
ards & Munn, who oftered to furnish and put up 
the stone work of the building, conformably to the 
specification, for $19,623. The Committee ac- 
cepted this proposal, relying on the established 
character of the contractors, and the fact that Mr. 
Rogers had served them satisfactorily in the erec- 
tion of the stone gateway. Subsequently, however, 
the contractors, finding, probably, that they had 
under-estimated the expense, endeavored to protect 
themselves from loss, by underletting certain por- 
tions of the work to less responsible parties. The 
consequence was, that many imperfect, defective, 
and blemished stones were inserted in the work, so 
that when the walls were erected, and before the 
roof was made, the Committee refused to pay any 
further instalments, or to accept the building, if 
finished in its then existing state. The contractors, 




VIEW FROM THE LAWN, 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 67 

however, thonglit it best to go on and complete the 
Chapel at their own risk. The Trustees refused 
• to accept the building ; but two or three -years 
afterwards they appointed a Committee, consisting 
of Messrs. Read and Crockett, with power to settle 
the disputed account. This Committee made an 
adjustment by paying the claim of the contractors 
subject to the performance of certain repairs, and 
the abatement of $1000 from the amount of their 

bill. 

The departures made by the builders from the 
requirements of the specification and plans, con- 
sisted not merely in the introduction of stones 
which became rusty in a few months, -but in the 
employment, in many cases, of stones of such short 
dimensions, that they did not sufficiently cover or 
overlay each other, so as to be capable of excluding 
water. The consequence was a frequent leakage 
in storms, with a freezing of the water in win- 
ter, greatly impairing the stability of the walls. 
After many fruitless attempts in different ways to 
repair the leaks, the Trustees voted, August 2d, 
1853, on the motion of Mr. Gould, " That it is ex- 
pedient that the Chapel in Mount Auburn be taken 
down for the purpose of rebuilding it in a more safe 
and substantial manner." A Committee, consisting 



58 HISTOllY OF 

of Messrs. Bigelow, Little, and Tisdale, were ap- 
pointed, with fall powers to carry this vote into 
effect. This Committee contracted with Messrs. 
Whitcher and Sheldon, of Quincy, to take down 
and rebuild the entire Chapel with certain addi- 
tional stones and new decorations, conducing 
both to its stability and improved appearance, for 
$16,900. In reconstructing the edifice, about two 
hundred blemished or defective stones were re- 
moved, and replaced with others of proper size 
and character. Suitable bonds and joints are 
everywhere introduced, and large granite ties 
connecting the clerestory with the outer walls 
are inserted under the roof. Some of the 
windows and mouldings have been changed, and 
the row of leaves beneath the cornice is carried 
round the buttresses. The Chapel is now a 
strong and safe building, the decorations are 
increased, while the aggregate expense for its 
building and reconstruction, is probably not 
much, if at all, greater than the sum which 
such an edifice would cost at the present day. 
Exclusive of the subscription, the actual cost to 
the proprietors is still less. 

The principal windows of the Chapel are of 
stained glass, manufactured by Messrs. Ballantyne 
Allan, of Edinburgh. 







CHAPEL IN FRONT. 






M::;^:4,^ _f^ 



;>WS 



■*»r 



Wm^^' 


^P|^!r~»^ 


"» 1 


B -V^-te^Ms-, ™ 


i^^£# 


i- 


11 


1 l_..^^^-.^ 




\ * '■■S^^^^^^^^^^^^- 




^^H 


M 


^^^^^^^^ ^^^ 


C^^^>jn^«'^P^^^SBK 


^ 


s 


^^SP 


'/>f So ^ fort 


^P 


p 


^^^^^ _ 



VIEW FROM CONSECRATION DELL. 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 59 

A well and pump for the refresliment of visitors 
have stood for many years near the gate. At a 
meeting July 6th, 1852, " Mr. Tisdale presented 
drawings and a plan for a pump and pump-house 
to be constructed near the gate within the grounds 
of the Corporation, and it was voted that the same 
be referred to the Committee who have the subject 
of constructing the tower in charge, with full pow- 
ers." The Committee proceeded to construct a 
new well and pump, with a drain, and stone plat- 
form, covered by a small wooden octagonal building 
with seats inside, after the plans offered by Mr. 
Tisdale and designed by Mr. Theodore Voelckers. 
The cost of this building was about |3000. 

THE TOWER. 

" At a meeting of the Trustees, June 1st, 1852, 
after some remarks, by the President, on the 
subject of the contemplated improvements at the 
Cemetery, the erection of a tower coming next in 
order, according to the original scheme, it was 
voted that the President, with Messrs. Gould and 
Little, be a Committee to prepare plans and esti- 
mates for a tower at Mount Auburn, and to report 
liereafter in writin cr." 



GO HISTORY OF 

At the next meeting, July 6tlij Dr. Bigelow, in 
behalf of the Committee, exhibited a model, de- 
signed by him, and approved by the Committee ; 
after due examination of which, the Trustees, on 
motion of Mr. Crockett, voted " That the plan 
and model, now presented, be adopted by this 
Board." And, on motion of Mr. Read, it was 
also voted, " That Messrs. Bigelow, Little, and 
Tisdale, be a Committee, with full power, to go 
on and erect the tower now adopted, in granite." 

The Committee, above named, contracted with 
Messrs. AVhitcher & Sheldon, of Quincy, to erect 
the tower, in stone, for |18,500. But the subse- 
quent addition of stone steps, on several sides, and 
a broad stone platform about the base, together 
with the grading of the hill, increased the expense 
to about 122,000. 

The tower is sixtv-two feet in hei^iht above the 
summit of Mount Auburn. It is built on the 
general plan of some of the round towers of the 
feudal ages, and contains a gallery, battlements, 
Gothic windows, and a spiral staircase of stone. 
Tlie stones are smooth hammered on both sides, 
so that each stone makes a part .of both the inside 
and outside surface of the wall. The horizontal 
surfaces of all the stones being level and true, it 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 61 

is impossible that any structure, of the same mate- 
rials, should be more substantial. The summit 
being above the tops of the highest trees, gives, 
from its platform, a panoramic view of the Ceme- 
tery and surrounding country. A landscape of 
citie's and villages, interspersed with woods, culti- 
vated fields, and large sheets of water, constitutes 
this view. Charles River, with its various wind- 
ings, is seen for seven or eight miles of its course, 
from Boston to Watertown, traversing the level 
marsh, which, in the distance, looks like a shaven 
lawn. In clear weather, the horizon is marked 
by the remote summits of Wachusett, and other 
distant mountains. 

The tower of Mount Auburn serves farther as 
a landmark, by which the place of the Cemetery 
is desiomated in the distance. It identifies the 
spot which is" already the resting place of thou- 
sands. It is a centre to which mourning hearts 
and eyes are daily turned, of those Avho would 
fain seek in its shadow for w^hat remains on earth 
of their children and kindred. 



62 HISTORY OF 

THE STATUES. 

At the meeting of the Trustees, Jan. 3d, 1854, 
the subject of occupying the interior of the Chapel 
with historical statues of public men was introduced 
by the President, in the following Report : — 

" The great and progressive demand for burial 
lots in Mount Auburn, which, in the last year, 
has increased beyond any former precedent, has 
been attended with a correspondent increase in 
the funds of the Corporation. This increase has 
not only been sufficient to carry to their comple- 
tion nearly all the great works proposed in the 
original design, but has left, at the end of the 
year, an accumulated surplus in the Treasurer's 
hands, for which no demand has been made. It 
seems proper, at this stage of affairs, that the 
Trustees should consider what is likely to be the 
amount of their future receipts, and what destina- 
tion can most fitly be made of the same, so as to 
carry out the original objects for which Mount 
Auburn was instituted, and to answer the just 
expectation of its proprietors. 

The following estimate may serve as the ground 
of an approximative calculation of the value of 
future sales of land at Mount Auburn : — 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 63 

The inclosure of the Cemetery contains about 
one hundred and ten acres, of which less than ten 
should be deducted for water and other unavailable 
portions, leaving one hundred acres. Of this, it is 
computed that about half is already sold, leaving 
unsold, fifty acres. 

An acre contains . . 43,560 sq. ft. 

Deduct half this for paths and spaces, 

leaving, say, . . . 21,000 " " 

Which, at 33 J cents a foot, the pres- 
ent price is . . . . $ 7,000 
And 50 acres are eventually worth . $ 350,000 
From this is to be deducted about twenty per 
cent, paid to the Horticultural Society, against 
which may be oifset the premium of twenty 
per cent, now paid by purchasers, who select 
their lots. It is apparent that the means of the 
Corporation are likely to be sufficient for any 
reasonable improvements, which they may feel 
themselves justified in undertaking. 

The object of the present Report is to submit 
to the Trustees the expediency and propriety of 
procuring to be made by competent artists a 
certain number of marble statues, commemora- 
tive of men who have been distino-uished in tlie 
history of tlie country by their characters and 



Gtt HISTORY OF 

public services, with a view to these statues being 
placed within the Chapel, which is now about to 
be reconstructed. By the charter of the Cemetery, 
the Corporation are authorized to expend their 
fands among other objects, for the ' improvement 
and embellishment' of the place. And one of 
the proposed objects for which the Chapel was 
erected, as expressed in Judge Story's Report, 
entered on our records, was, that ' the interior 
sides may become the repository of busts, statues, 
and other sepulchral monuments, which may, 
from time to time, be placed there.' The custom 
of placing works of sculpture, commemorative of 
the illustrious dead, in the interior of chapels and 
churches, is not uncommon in Europe, and is 
occasionally seen in this country. And, as such 
memorials are, or should be, elaborate works of 
art, the propriety becomes apparent, that they 
should be protected from the elements by the 
shelter of a roof. 

But few of the distinguished men of our own 
country, and especially of this section of it, have 
received fi*om their posterity those permanent 
marks of gratitude, to which the importance of 
their public services has entitled them. Having 
died, perhaps, during the comparative poverty 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 65 

of the country, tlieir merits and claims to such 
recognition have been obscured by the lapse of 
years, and for a time forgotten. There were 
amoncr them men of hio;h intellect, indomitable 
courage, and unquestioned patriotism, — such 
qualities as civilized nations, in all ages, have 
been prompt to recognize and commemorate by 
lasting memorials. Is it right that we, into 
whose hands Providence has thrown the appro- 
priate means, should withhold from them this 
late, yet fitting, tribute, in the midst of a 
prosperity, founded on their efforts and sacri- 
fices, and which now furnishes us the means to 
prepare and decorate sumptuous resting places, in 
life and death, for our own less worthy selves. 

If the patronage of genius be permitted to 
weigh as a collateral consideration, we have 
artists, resident among us, and others have gone 
out from our midst, who have already won 
applause from those who are qualified to judge, 
and have given proofs that the field, and not the 
talent, is wanting to their honorable success. 

It will be remembered that the Cemetery of 
Mount Auburn was the first to embody, for its 
own purposes, a plan, uniting the beauties of 



66 HISTORY OF 

art and nature in a manner, and on a scale, 
wliicli liad not been effected in this country, 
nor, in some respects, in any other. Its fortunate 
inception, and well considered arrangements, have 
caused it to be imitated in almost all the large 
cities and villacres of the United States. It re- 
mains to be seen whether, from its ample means, 
it shall continue to take the lead in carrying 
into effect new forms of o-ratjful remembrance 
of the dead, or wait to become the tardy imitator 
of other institutions, to which it has hitherto 
been an example. 

(Signed) Jacob Bigelow." 

On receipt of the above Report, the Trustees 
voted, " That a Committee of three, of whom the 
President shall be Chairman, be appointed to con- 
sider the report on statuary made this day, and 
report at a future meeting of the Trustees, upon 
the general subject of introducing statues into the 
Cemetery at the expense of the Corporation." Mr. 
Parker requested that his vote, dissenting from the 
foregoing vote, should be entered on record. The 
President, with Messrs. Bead and Curtis, were 
ordered to constitute said Committee. 

At the meeting, Feb. 13th, 1854, the President, 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 67 

from tlie Committee on Statuary, made a written 
report, wliicli was postponed for consideration until 
the next meeting, tlie Secretary in the meantime 
to furnish each Trustee with a copy of the same. 

After a discussion of the subject, which was 
continued through several successive meetino-s, at 
length, at the meeting holden Sept. 4th, 1854, the 
Trustees voted, " That the sum of fifteen thousand 
dollars be appropriated for the purchase of three 
marble statues, to be procured and executed under 
contracts to be made with proper artists ; said stat- 
ues to be those of persons distinguished in Ameri- 
can history. But this vote is subject to the follow- 
ing conditions, viz., that it shall be approved in 
writing by five at least of this Board of Trustees ; 
and, second, that the professional opinions of C. P. 
Curtis, Esq., and the Secretary, shall be taken in 
writing, and found to sustain the legality of such 
appropriation." Mr. Crockett requested that his 
name should be recorded as against the passage of 
this vote. 

Finally, at a meeting, Oct. 2d, 1854, it was de- 
clared that, " The vote passed at the last meeting 
on the subject of statuary, had received the ap- 
proval of certain Trustees in writing, as follows : 
' On the above named conditions, the subscribers, 



68 HISTORY OF 

Trustees of Mount Auburn Cemetery, approve the 

appropriation of fifteen thousand dollars as above 

specified, for the above named object.' Signed, 

Jacob Bigelow, 
James Read, 
Isaiah Bangs, 
B. A. Gould, 
Charles P. Curtis, 
Charles C. Little, 
George H. Kuhn, 
Seven in all of the nine Trustees. 

The forecroino; certificate was annexed to a cer- 
tified copy of the vote." 

About this time, and before the pending ques- 
tions were definitely settled, a statue of the late 
Judge Story, destined for Mount Auburn, had ar- 
rived from Italy, and w^as temporarily placed in the 
vestibule of the Boston Athenasum. It was the 
result of a spontaneous private subscription which 
had immediately followed the death of that distin- 
guished citizen and jurist, which happened in 1845, 
as already noticed on page 52. 

As soon as the subscription for this statue had 
been filled, a meeting of the subscribers was called 
at the Secretary's ofiice, Nov. 25th, 1845, at which 
a unanimous vote was passed, " That the Trustees 
of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn be, and hereby 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 69 

are, appointed a Committee to carry out the views 
of the subscribers in this matter, and, in case of 
any exigency, to call another meeting of the sub- 
scribers as they shall see fit." 

Thereupon, the Trustees of Mount Auburn 
voted, " That the Trustees will accept the commis- 
sion so entrusted to them by the subscribers to the 
fund for the erection of a marble statue of the late 
Joseph Story, and act under the same accord- 
ingly." 

The money subscribed was collected and placed 
at interest, and a contract was made by the Trus- 
tees with William W. Story, son of the deceased, 
to execute a marble statue of his father, deliverable 
in five years. Owing to various casualties, the 
statue was not completed in the prescribed time. 
The contract expired and was renewed, and finally 
the statue arrived in 1855, about ten years from 
the time of its being ordered. 

The selection of three historical personages to fill 
the renlaining niches of the Chapel, was not an easy 
task. Much difficulty was felt, particularly in se- 
lectino; from amono; the £:reat names which cluster 
about the period of the American revolution. The 
Committee entrusted with this responsibility con- 
sulted by letter many of our best historians and 



70 HISTORY OF 

scholars, without obtaining even an approach taa 
unanimous result. At last a method was adopted 
of assuming a representative man for each of four 
great periods, or important epochs, in the history of 
Massachusetts. The first era was that of the set- 
tlement of the colony, and is represented in the 
person of John Winthrop, its first governor. The 
second period was that of the first resistance to the 
aggressions of the British parliament, of which 
movement James Otis was the leader and imperso- 
nation. The third epoch comprised the revolution 
itself and the establishment of a new constitution, 
a momentous period, fitly represented in the person 
of John Adams. Lastly, the fourth, or present 
period, which is that of peaceful fruition under the 
supremacy of beneficial laws, finds a just embodi- 
ment in the character of the conservative and 
eloquent Joseph Story. 

The duty of selecting and engaging the artists to 
execute these works was. assifnied to a Committee 
of one, as will be seen in the following votes. 

" At a meeting of the Trustees of the Proprietors 
of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn, holden Nov. 
6th, 1854, the following votes were passed : — 

Voted, That the President be instructed and 
authorised in the name and behalf of this Cor- 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 71 

poration, to contract with some suitable artist, to 
be selected by him, for a statue of John Winthrop^ 
in marble, the cost of which shall not exceed five 
thousand dollars. 

Voted, That the President be instructed and 
authorised in the name and behalf of this Corpo- 
ration, to contract Avith some suitable artist, to be 
selected by him, for a statue of James Otis, in 
marble, the cost of which shall not exceed five 
thousand dollars. 

Voted, That the President be instructed and 
authorised, in the name and behalf of this Corpo- 
ration, to contract Avith some suitable artist, to be 
selected by him, for a statue of Jo7m Adams, in 
marble, the cost of which shall not exceed five 
thousand dollars. 
Attest, 

Henry M. Parker, Secretary.^* 

In pursuance of the above votes, artists were 
immediately selected, and contracts signed for the 
execution of the statues. Considerable progress 
was made, and as the work advanced, parts of the 
stipulated price were paid as they became due. In 
this stage of the business, Mr. Nazro, at a meeting, 
April 7th, 1856, proposed an inquiry whether these 
contracts had gone so far that they could not be 



72 HISTORY OF 

rescinded. A Committee, consisting of Messrs. 
Nazro, Curtis, and Lawrence, were appointed " to 
examine, consider, and report whether the afore- 
said contracts can be rescinded." At an adjourned 
meeting, April 21st, this Committee reported ad- 
versely to the measure, and a minority report was 
also made by Mr. Nazro in favor of rescinding. 
Both reports were ordered to be put on record. 
On a final vote by yeas and nays, on a motion 
of Mr. Gould to accept the report of the Com- 
mittee, the Trustees decided in the affirmative as 
follows : Yeas, Messrs. Curtis, Gould, Lawrence, 
and Read ; Nays, Messrs. Crocker, McKean, 
Nazro, and Tisdale, — the President giving his 
casting vote in the affirmative. Messrs. Bangs, 
Cheever, and Little, were absent. 

The artists selected for these diiierent works, in 
pursuance of the votes heretofore stated, were 
Richard S. Greenough, by whom the statue of 
Governor Winthrop was finished in Florence, 
and placed on its pedestal in little more than 
three years ; — Thomas Crawford, who had 
modelled, and nearly completed, in Rome, the 
majestic figure of James Otis, when the untimely 
death of the pre-eminent sculptor left the work 
to receive its last finish from other hands : — 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 73 

and, lastly, Randolph Rogers, by whom a spirited 
statue of John Adams was promptly executed, 
but, unfortunately, lost at sea, on its way from 
Italy. A duplicate of the statue was immediately 
undertaken, and finished by Mr. Rogers. These 
artists are all Americans, — natives of Massachu- 
setts and New York. 

At a meethig, Sept. 4th, 1855, the Trustees 
voted, that the Committee on Lots be authorized 
to lay out such number of quarter lots, containing 
seventy-five feet each, and m such places as they 
may deem expedient, each such quarter lot to be 
sold for fifty dollars. 

April 5th, 1858. The need of a Special Police 
on the ground having been occasionally felt, Mr. 
Bangs was appointed a Committee to request the 
Mayor and Aldermen, of Cambridge, and the 
Selectmen, of Watertown, to appoint the Super- 
intendent, the Gate-keeper, and two other suitable 
men, to be nominated by the Superintendent, as 
Special Policemen in and around the Cemetery 
of Mount Auburn, without compensation. The 
Committee reported. May 3d, that this appoint- 
ment had been made, agreeably to the request. 

The water courses in Mount Auburn consisted, 
originally, of a series of small ponds, apparently 



74 HISTORY OF 

stagnant, but communicating with each other by 
filtration through the sand or gravel. In rainy 
periods, the water in these ponds stands at differ- 
ent heights ; but, in times of drought, the surfaces 
approach more nearly the same level. Formerly, a 
continuous flow of water took place from Wyeth's 
Meadow, lying north of the main road, across 
the road into what is now called the Lawn, and 
thence across what is now Central Avenue, into 
Garden Pond, — the upper portion of which, next 
the avenue, is since filled up. To Garden Pond 
there was no outlet ; but the water escaped, by 
percolation, through Indian Ridge into Auburn 
Lake, formerly Meadow Pond. Twenty years 
ago, this beautifully situated little lake was a bog 
meadow, covered with grass and bushes. It has 
been gradually excavated, without expense, by 
the removal of mud, which is mostly composed of 
decayed leaves and other decomposed vegetable 
substances, and is used to enrich the soil. In 
1857, a generous purchase was made by Miss 
A. M. Loring, of two thousand feet of land, at 
the head of this lake, for |1000, — the land to 
be forever kept open for ornamental purposes, 
and the money to be expended in repairing and 
stoning the edges of this lake. The Trustees, 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 75 

after expending tliis sum for tlie purpose required, 
proceeded, on the following year, to finish the 
inclosure in the same style, at the expense of 
the Corporation. The whole bank is now stoned 
and sodded ; a path is completed round the upper 
half, and a carriage road round the lower half, 
crossing the water by a small bridge, designed 
by Mr. Mann, at its narrowest part. 

The " Lawn " was evidently, in former times, 
a continuation of Wyeth's Meadow. As it is too 
low for cemetery purposes, an excavation was, 
at one time, begun, for the purpose of converting 
it into a lake. But this purpose was changed; 
and it is now decided to raise the surface one 
foot, and to cover it with loam and grass, with 
a view to its being always kept open for orna- 
ment, and for affording a prospect of the Chapel 
from the road. 

Livino; sprino-s exist at the bottom of all the 
principal ponds, and are seen discharging, when- 
ever the water is drawn off for the purpose of 
deepening the ponds, or removing the mud. In 
the course of time, it is probable that most of 
the smaller ponds will be filled up, and the 
larger ones contracted, by raising, and symmetri- 
cally repairing their banks with edgings of stone. 



76 HISTORY OF 

In this way the small pond, in Consecration Dell, 
was repaired in 1854, and Forest Pond in 1859. 
The west end of Garden Pond was filled up with 
gravel to the height of six and a half feet above 
the water in 1855 - 6, for the sum, by contract, 
of $850. The land thus created has been laid 
out in lots, and a part of these are already sold. 

A deep and abrupt hollow, contiguous to the 
west side of the Chapel, though desirable in 
situation, had been unsaleable, on account of the 
character of the surface. The Trustees voted, 
August 4th, 1856, to cause this hollow to be 
filled with gravel taken from the bank east of 
the gate. The land thus made has since been 
sold at advanced prices, — a part of it for f 2 
per foot. 

A house for the Superintendent had been 
voted to be made, originally, by repairing an 
old building, which was found standing within 
the premises when the land was purchased. 
Afterwards, Oct. 18th, 1832, a Committee was 
appointed to erect a cottage for the Superin- 
tendent, at an expense not exceeding $2000. A 
small house and barn were erected, which were 
used by the Superintendent for more than twenty 
years. At a meeting of the Trustees, Oct. 1st, 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 7T 

1855, it was voted, that the Committee on 
Grounds be authorized to remove this house and 
the adjacent buildings from the Cemetery, if 
they shall think it expedient. The removal was 
accordingly made. A new house for the Super- 
intendent was built on the side of the road 
opposite the gate, on a lot of land purchased 
by the Trustees a few years before, from Mr. 
Rufus Howe, Superintendent. The gravel was 
first removed from the surface of this land, and 
used, in part, in filling up the west end of 
Garden Pond. This house, with the outhouses 
and appendages, cost in all about $5000. 

For many years after the establishment of the 
Cemetery, the office of Gate-keeper was dis- 
charged by a laboring man. In 1854, a new 
office was created of Superintendent's Clerk, — 
which office, since that year, has been held by 
the same person who officiates as Gate-keeper. 

In 1857, a new By-Law was introduced, pro- 
viding for the appointment of a Gardener, who 
shall be charged with the care and repairing 
of lots for those proprietors who may desire 
that service ; and who shall keep for sale shrubs, 
trees, and flowers, at the Cemetery. ]\Ir. An- 
thony Apple having been appointed to that office, 



78 HISTOKY OF 

a lease was executed to him of tlie land west of 
the Superintendent's house, on which he has 
proceeded to erect a green-house, and cultivate a 
garden. 

The Trustees have, at different times, intro- 
duced ornamental trees, and flowering shrubs, 
into various parts of the grounds. The last 
importation consisted of four or five hundred 
Rhododendrons, in the spring of 1859, of which 
nearly the whole appear flourishing, and in 
vigorous condition. A great variety of shrubs 
and flowers, native and exotic, are cultivated by 
proprietors themselves about their respective lots. 



STONE FARM. 

It has lono; been thouo-ht desirable that the 
Corporation should ' possess the estate called, on 
the map, " The Stone Farm," containing about 
sixteen acres, occupying the whole space between 
the southern boundary of Mount Auburn and the 
southerly part of Coolidge Avenue. This lot, also, 
surrounded and cut ofl" from the Cemetery a gore 
of two or three acres, already owned by the Cor- 
poration, and which could only be made available 



MOUNT AUfJURN CEMETERY. 79 

wlien the intervening land sliould be procured. 
A negotiation Avas undertaken by Mr. Little, one 
of the Board of Trustees ; and, at a meeting 
April 3d, 1854, a letter was read from Mr. J. B. 
Dana, of Cambridge, addressed to Mr. Little, as 
one of the Trustees, offering to sell this estate 
to the Corporation, on conditions therein named. 
After due consideration, it was unanimously 
voted, ^' That it is expedient for this Corpora- 
tion to purchase the Stone Estate, now owned 
and oflPered to this Board by J. B. Dana, Esq., 
and adjoining Mount Auburn, on the southerly 
side, containing about sixteen acres, more or less, 
with the buildings thereon ; and that the Presi- 
dent, with Messrs. Little and Bangs, be a 
Committee, with full power, to carry this vote 
into effect." 

At the following meeting, April 22d, the 
purchase was reported as being completed. Tor 
the sum of $24,120, on the following valua- 
tion : — 

16 acres, at 11250, . . . |20,000 
1 rood, IS^jy rods, . . . 420 

Buildings, per agreement, . . 3,700 

$24,120 



80 HISTORY OF 

The same Committee had been likewise author- 
ised, if they should think it expedient, to negotiate 
for certain lands on the westerly side of Mount 
Auburn. On examination, however, they did not 
find such purchase to be expedient or desirable. 

At a meeting of the Trustees, March 1, 1858, 
it was voted — " That the Committee on Grounds 
be instructed to expend $1000 per annum, in 
grading, and improving the unsold parts of the 
land within the Cemetery, and that the earth 
removed by this process be applied towards 
filling up the superfluous ponds and hollows in 
the grounds." This provision, if kept up for a 
few years, will gradually and imperceptibly effect 
the desired changes, without subjecting the Cor- 
poration to any sudden or inconvenient expendi- 
ture. 

July 6th, 1858. A communication having been 
received firom Mr. Lawrence, Treasurer of Har- 
vard College, in regard to some encroachments 
in the boundary line between the land of the 
two Corporations, Mr. Gould was made a Com- 
mittee, with full power, to settle the same. A 
report of a satisfactory adjustment, by a little 
variation of the boundary, was reported by that 
gentleman, at a subsequent meeting. 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 81 

May ^th^ 1859. In consequence of the de- 
cease of Mr. Bangs, one of the Board of Trustees, 
Mr. Curtis presented the following Resolutions, 
which were unanimously adopted : — 

" Whereas, By the decease of the late Isaiah 
Bangs, Esq., the Proprietors of the Cemetery 
of Mount Auburn have been deprived of the 
services of a faithful officer, who, durino- five 
years, devoted himself to their interests with a 
zeal and fidelity rarely equalled. 

And whereas the Board of Trustees have lost 
a companion, whose good temper, amenity, and 
candor were conspicuous in all his relations with 
tliem, — 

It is voted, that the Board of Trustees desire 
to express the sense they entertain of the lost 
which they and the Proprietors of Mount Auburn 
have sustained by the death of their late friend 
and fellow Trustee. 

Voted, That a copy of the foregoing Preamble 
and Vote be sent by the Secretary to the family 
of Mr. Bangs." 

In the summer of 1859, a marble statue of the 

late Hosea Ballou, an eminent Minister of the 

Universalist Church in Boston, executed by Mr. 

E. A. Brackett, sculptor, of Boston, was erected 

6 



82 HISTORY OF 

by a subscription of liis parishioners and friends 
on the east side of Central Avenue. 

Mr. Gould, one of the Board of Trustees, 
died, Oct. 24th, 1859, having been in office for 
twenty-seven years. At the next meeting, Nov. 
7th, the following Resolutions were unanimously 
adopted : — 

" The Trustees of Mount Auburn Cemetery 
are deeply impressed by the act of Providence 
which has taken from them one of the oldest, 
most faithful, and most esteemed of their number. 

They hold in grateful remembrance the long 
and friendly intercourse by which he has co- 
operated with them in the care of a solemn 
public trust, and the fidelity, zeal, and undeviating 
good temper with which he has applied himself 
to the discharge of this duty. 

They recollect, with unmixed satisfaction, the 
disinterested and honorable character of their 
friend ; his blameless life ; his warm and generous 
instincts ; the unalterable integrity with which 
he obeyed the promptings of a kind heart, 
controlled and guided by a strong judgment 
and conscientious love of risiht. 

To the family of the deceased they would con- 
vey the expression of their deep-felt sympathy. 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 83 

in aid of the higher consolation which will always 
remain to them in contemplating the example of 
his life, and in cherishing his unspotted memory." 

PERMANENT FUND. 

A design has heen entertained, and repeatedly 
announced, that, as soon as the large, primary 
works should have been completed, the Corpora- 
tion should commence the accumulation of a 
fund, the prospective income of which should 
defray the expenses of the Cemetery, after the 
revenue from the annual sales of land shall have 
ceased. 

In promotion of this object, at a meeting, April 
7th, 1856, Mr. Curtis made a communication to 
the effect that " a plan should be devised whereby 
a fund might be gradually raised, set apart, and 
studiously protected, for the purpose of furnishing 
the means of hereafter defraying the ordinary 
expenses of the establishment, and to secure the 
perpetual repair of the ground of the Cemetery." 
Whereupon, it was voted, that a Committee of 
three be chosen to consider the expediency of 
adopting such plan, and to report thereon at 
a future meeting. Messrs. Curtis, Little, and 
Nazro, were appointed to constitute this Commit- 



84 HISTORY OF 

tee. At a meeting in January, 1857, a majority 
Report was submitted by the two first named gen- 
tlemen only, and was adopted by the Trustees. 

At the meeting in February following, the 
whole subject was re-opened for the purpose of 
making some more effectual provision to ensure 
the safety of said fund, and was referred to the 
same Committee, in the following terms : — "To 
consider and report upon a plan for securing the 
preservation and continuance of the fund Avhich 
has been ordered to be established, for the per- 
petual care and preservation of the Cemetery 
and its appurtenances ; and also to report such 
regulations for the investment and use of the 
said fund as they may deem expedient." 

A Report, with the Orders accompanying, was 
presented by a majority of the Committee, April 
6th, 1857, and, on the same day, was adopted by 
the Board of Trustees, and is as follows : — 

" The undersigned, the majority of the Com- 
mittee appointed to report a plan for ensuring the 
preservation and continuance of the accumulating 
fund, have considered the subject, and ask leave 
to Report : — 

That they find that the establishment of the 
said fund is an act generally received with favor 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 85 

by tlie proprietors whom they have conferred 
with ; and they have no doubt that it will be 
universally approved, when it is known that by 
it the future prosperity of the Cemetery will be 
secured. With a view to this end, your Com- 
mittee have taken into consideration the means 
of securing the perpetual preservation of this 
safety fund ; and, after consulting some of the 
most sagacious proprietors, they have come to 
the conclusion to recommend the adoption of an 
order by the Trustees, — that, in all the deeds 
of lots which shall hereafter be issued, there 
be inserted a covenant, that this fund shall 
be increased, by yearly additions, and by the 
accumulation of the interest, until it reaches the 
sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars ; 
when the interest, and that alone, may be applied, 
if the wants of the Corporation require it, to 
the payment of the expenses of the Cemetery. If 
the Trustees in office at that time shall not need 
the income of this fund for expenses, they can, if 
they see fit, permit it to accumulate still longer. 

In order to carry this design into effect, it will 
be expedient to amend the proposition adopted 
January 5th, 1857, by prc^viding that, instead 
of placing the income at the disposal of the 



86 HISTORY OF 

officers, at the end of twenty years, it shall not 
be made use of until the accumulated capital shall 
amount to the sum before mentioned, namely, 
one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 

With these views, your Committee recommend 
the passage of the following Orders. 

Charles P. Curtis, 
Charles C. Little. 

It is ordered, by the Trustees of the Cemetery 
of Mount Auburn, that, in the month of Decem- 
ber of each year, the Treasurer of the Proprietors 
of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn shall deposit 
with the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance 
Company, if they will receive it on as favorable 
conditions as other deposits, in trust for the said 
Proprietors, a sum equal to one fifth part of the 
gross proceeds of the lots, and parts of lots, and 
intermediate spaces between lots, which shall have 
been sold subsequently to the first day of Decem- 
ber, in the year preceding ; the interest of which 
sums shall, annually or oftener, be added to the 
capital, for the purpose, and upon the principle, 
of accumulation, until the whole of said deposits, 
with the accumulate interest, shall amount to 
one liundred and fifty thousand dollars. 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 87 

And, when the said sum shall have amounted 
to the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars, it shall be lawful for the Trustees, if 
they see fit, to withdraw the income thereof, and 
appropriate the same to the care, preservation, 
and keeping in order of the Cemetery and its 
appurtenances, to the payment of the salaries, 
and to the other necessary expenses of the insti- 
tution ; and, by vote of four fifths of the Trustees 
for the time being, they may withdraw, from time 
to time, the principal of the said fund, and invest 
the same as hereinafter is prescribed. 

If, at any time, the Trustees shall deem the 
Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company 
to be an unsafe place of deposit of the said fund, 
and shall by a vote of a majority of all the 
members of the Board, so declare of record, the 
said fund may be withdrawn from the custody 
of the said Insurance Company, as soon as by 
the conditions of the deposit it may be, and shall 
then be, invested in the name of the Proprietors 
of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn, upon the 
same trusts, in the public debt of the United 
States, or in that of the State of Massachusetts, 
or in the debt of the City of Boston, or the City 
of Charlestovvn, or the City of Roxbury, or the 



88 HISTORY OF 

City of Cambridge, or in mortgages of real estate 
in Boston : provided that no mortgage shall be 
taken for a sum exceeding two thirds of the value 
of the estate as it stands, when taken, on the 
valuation books of the assessors of the city taxes ; 
nor for a period exceeding five years ; nor in 
which the interest shall not be payable as often 
as annually ; to which shall be added insurance 
against fire by some competent insurance com- 
pany in Boston, for the amount of the loan, or 
such proportion thereof as the value of the 
buildings on the land shall enable the owner to 
obtain ; which insurance shall be renewed, from 
time to time, at the expense of the mortgagor 
and his assigns, and shall be payable, in case of 
loss, to the Trustees of the Cemetery of Mount 
Auburn. 

It is ordered^ that in all the deeds which shall 
hereafter be issued, to the purchasers of lots, parts 
of lots, or other parcels of land in the Cemetery, 
the following covenant shall be inserted : — 

' And the said Proprietors of the Cemetery of 
Mount Auburn further covenant to and with the 
said heirs and assigns, that the 

Provisions of an order passed by the Trustees of 
this Corporation, on the sixth day of April, m 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 89 

the year elgliteen hundred and fifty-seven (which 
is made part of this covenant, as if herein 
repeated), for the establishment and security of 
a fund for the preservation of the Cemetery and 
its appurtenances, shall be forever kept, observed, 
and performed by the said Corporation.' " 

The permanent fund thus instituted is already 
in a state of prosperous growth, in the third year 
of its accretion, and without inconvenience to the 
Corporation. Its present rate of accumulation is 
about $5000 per year, and this ratio may be 
expected regularly to increase with the accumula- 
tion of interest. 



ANNUAL REPORTS. 



The remaining History of Mount Auburn 
Cemetery will be learnt from the following cotem- 
poraneous reports of the last four years : — 

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE MOUNT 
AUBURN CEMETERY, READ TO THE PROPRIETORS 
AT THEIR MEETING IN JANUARY, 1856. 

Previously to 1856, the Annual Report, required by the Act of 
Incorporation, had, in most cases, been made orally by the 
President at the yearly meeting of the Proprietors. Of late 
years the increased interest manifested by the Proprietors in 
the affairs of the Cemetery, has called for the reading and 
subsequent printing of this Report. 

The Trustees of Mount Auburn Cemetery are 
gratified in being able to report that the property 
of the Corporation remains as heretofore, in a 
secure and satisfactory state. 

A considerable sum has been expended during 
the last year, in repairing, grading, and paving at 
the sides, some of the principal avenues. Many of 
the superfluous trees have been removed, and the 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 91 

branches of others trimmed away, so that the whole 
ground has a more finished and ornamental appear- 
ance than it before possessed. Much remains still 
to be done in the judicious and careful prosecution 
of these and similar improvements. 

The westerly portion of Garden Pond, near Cen- 
tral Avenue, has justly been considered a blemish 
to Mount Auburn, on account of the stagnant con- 
dition of the water, and the muddiness of the banks 
and bottom. A contract has been made for fillino; 
up this pond with gravel from the neighboring hill, 
for the sum of $ 850. The earth will be raised 
about six and a half feet above the present surface 
of the water, by which operation the Corporation 
will gain more than an acre of valuable land in 
one of the most eligible parts of the Cemetery. 

Some preparatory arrangements have been made 
for the occupation of the Stone Farm purchased last 
year by the Trustees. The principal avenues have 
been prospectively surveyed and planted with 
young trees at suitable distances. Nearly the w^hole 
of these trees were in healthy condition at the end 
of the summer. 

The Chapel has been taken down as far as the 
base course, and rebuilt during the past season, in 
a strong and durable manner. The blemished and 



92 HISTORY OF 

insufficient stones inserted by the unfaithfulness of 
the contractors, have been replaced with others of 
proper size and appearance, and the character of 
the building is now in all respects satisfactory as to 
strength, solidity, and durability. No change has 
been made in the design except by the introduction 
of some additional ornament outside. The interior 
walls not being sufficiently dry, the painting is de- 
ferred till next season. 

The Statues intended to occupy the interior of 
the Chapel are all in progress, under contracts 
made with artists of high eminence in their profes- 
sion. The statue of Gov. Winthrop is to be exe- 
cuted by Richard Greenough, — that of James Otis 
by Thomas Crawford, — that of John Adams by 
Randolph Rogers, — that of Judge Story is by 
"William W. Story. The model statuettes of the 
first and third of these, are already completed, — 
that of the second is promised soon, while the 
fourth statue is already finished and in possession 
of the Trustees. 

A vote has passed the Trustees for laying out 
quarter lots of seventy-five square feet each, and 
offering them for sale at |50 each. This will 
accommodate a certain class of purchasers who 
have occasion for but small space, and at the same 
time will enhance the product of the land sold. 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 93 

The late Superintendent, Mr. Rufus Howe, 
havlno; reslp-ned his office, the Trustees have 
elected Mr. Jonathan Mann to fill the vacancy. 
This election, hov^^ever, is temporary, and subject 
to future confirmation. 

An application has been made to the Trustees by 
a large and influential body of the proprietors, in 
favor of building a Conservatory for the benefit of 
those persons Avho may wish to obtain plants or 
flowers upon the spot. The subject has received 
consideration, and is referred to the next Board of 
Trustees. 

It will be seen by the Treasurer's Report that 
the expenditures of the last year have considerably 
exceeded those of any preceding year. This is in 
part owing to the payments which have become 
due on certain large operations, such as are not 
likely to recur, and partly to the state of transition 
between the retirement of the former Superintend- 
ent and the introduction of his successor. The 
Trustees entertain the hope that a more economical 
system of labor will be introduced, and that the 
necessary work on the grounds will be performed 
by a smaller number of hands than heretofore. 

A great number of outstanding accounts for work 
done by order of individuals, in different lots of the 



94 HISTORY OF 

Cemetery, had remained uncollected by the late 
Superintendent, until they were found to amount 
in the aggregate to about $5000. Immediate 
measures have been taken to collect these dues 
as far as possible, and about $2500 have already 
been received by the Treasurer. It is hoped 
that a large portion of the remainder may yet 
be saved to the Corporation. 

The future security of Mount Auburn will 
depend on the fidelity and economy with which its 
affairs are administered, and with which its pros- 
pective plans are carried out as contemplated by 
its founders. It may be assumed that all the large 
and more expensive operations which have been 
kept in view since the foundation of the establish- 
ment, are now either paid or provided for. It only 
remains, by a judicious and careful management of 
expenditures, to keep the Cemetery in suitable 
repair, and at the same time to accumulate a fund 
for its perpetual preservation. Both these objects 
can easily be accomplished by the exercise of a 
common degree of discretion and economy in the 
management of the receipts and funds. Bu^ on 
the other hand, they will assuredly be defeated, if 
hereafter, either by reckless expenditures or by 
improper appropriations, the steady accretion of 
a reserved fund should be prevented. 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 95 

As nearly as it can now be estimated, the event- 
ual value of the unsold land at Mount Auburn 
may be assumed at about ^300,000, at present 
prices. The current expenses of the Cemetery may 
be assumed at $10,000 per annum. On this ap- 
proximate calculation, if the whole of the unsold 
land should be disposed of in ten years, there would 
remain a balance of $200,000, without including 
interest. But on the other hand, if it should take 
thirty years to sell the land, then the whole pro- 
ceeds would be absorbed by the current expenses, 
and not a dollar from these receipts would be left 
for the future support of the establishment. 

It must be obvious to the proprietors, as it has 
been to the Trustees, that the only safety against 
the ultimate impoverishment and decay of the 
Cemetery must consist in a rigid determination on 
the part of future Boards who may be entrusted 
with the management of this property, to reserve 
annually, such a sum from the receipts of the 
current year, whether those receipts be larger 
or smaller, as shall insure the steady increase of 
the permanent fund, and the eventual realization 
of sufficient invested property to keep the Ceme- 
tery in perpetual repair after the sale of the land 
shall have been completed. 



96 HISTORY OF 

It is in the power of every proprietor to promote 
the interest and increase the income of the Corpo- 
ration, in the following ways : — 

1. By employing none but the workmen belong- 
ing to the place, for the execution of labor and the 
repairing of lots. A circular on this subject has 
already been addressed to the proprietors. 

2. By introducing new proprietors or otherwise 
promoting the sale of lots. If each proprietor 
should introduce a new proprietor, the establish- 
ment would at once be placed on a footing of entire 
independence. 

Mount Auburn, in most respects, takes prece- 
dence of other cemeteries which have been founded" 
in imitation of it. The peculiar character of its 
natural features had attracted attention long before 
its purchase, and the surrounding landscape now 
seen from the top of its highest edifice, is unsur- 
passed in natural and cultivated beauty. It ex- 
ceeds all similar establishments in this country in 
the size and durability of its larger constructions, 
and is about to lead, instead of following them, in 
the interest of its historic and monumental sculp- 
tures. As it is not probable that the present 
boundaries can ever be much enlarged, and as the 
lots are being steadily taken up at increasing 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 97 

prices, so that the map of the ground already ap- 
pears covered with them, we may anticipate that 
the time is not very remote, when the value of 
these lots will be best known by the difficulty of 
obtaining them. 

By order of the Trustees. 

Jacob Bigelow, President, 



ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE MOUNT 
AUBURN CEMETERY, JANUARY, 1857. 

The Cemetery of Mount Auburn continues in 
a safe and improving condition, not less than it 
has done in all the previous years of its history. 
During the past season, some new works of 
small magnitude have been undertaken, and 
some large ones previously begun have been 
carried to completion. 

The upper end of Garden Pond (a pool of stag- 
nant muddy water) has been filled up to the height 
of about six feet above its former surface, with 
gravel taken from the hill near the gate. A large 
7 



98 HISTOllY OF 

stone drain is laid through the centre, over which, 
for economy of space, an avenue will be laid out. 
The greater portion of the hill has been levelled. 
Garden Avenue has been moved nearer to the 
fence. A part of the trees on its border have been 
transplanted to the south side, and the whole re- 
arranged with reference to their good appearance 
and room for future growth. A hollow near Alder 
Path, and one south-westerly of the Chapel, have 
also been filled up. By these measures collec- 
tively, about two acres of valuable land in the most 
eligible parts of the Cemetery have been redeemed, 
at an expense many times less than their present 
value. 

The old house occupied by the Superintendent, 
together with its outhouses, have been removed 
and a new house for the Superintendent has been 
built on land owned by the Corporation, outside 
and easterly. of the gate. This building (designed 
by Mr. H. W. Hartwell) has been constructed in 
a substantial and durable manner, at an expense of 
about four thousand dollars.* 

The area in front of the Chapel has been en- 

* A stable, fences, ani other appurtenances were afterward 
added, increasing the cost about I^'IOOO. The stable was built 
in 1859. 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 99 

larged, by the purchase and removal of several 
lots which were formerly situated on the same 
space. It is justly considered important to the good 
appearance of the principal edifices, such as the 
Tower, the Chapel, and the Gate, that no inferior 
structures should be placed so near them, as to 
interfere with, or'impair their isolated effect. 

The Chapel has been completed in a satisfactory 
manner, both as to appearance and durability. 
Two of the pedestals and one of the statues, des- 
tined for the interior, are already in their places. 
The three remaining statues are understood to 
be in a state of forwardness, and may be expected 
to arrive here in from one to two years. 

Due attention has been paid to repairing and 
improving the avenues and paths, and to extend- 
ing the pavement of gutters where it was thought 
necessary. Some expense has been incurred in 
repairing the damage done by the heavy rains of 
the last summ.T. 

The thinning out and trimming of trees has been 
in gradual progress, under the superintendence of 
Mr. Mann, the present able and active Superin- 
tendent, with whose economy and skill as a land- 
scape gardener, the Trustees have great reason to 
be satisfied. 



100 HISTORY OF 

The names of some of the persons interred in the 
public lots, having been lost throi^h the inatten- 
tion of their relatives and friends, measures have 
been taken, as far as possible, to identify these per- 
sons, and, in future, to remedy such neglect, by 
affixing to each grave a number on stone, with a 
corresponding number of reference on the Superin- 
tendent's books. 

An important vote has passed the Trustees, pro- 
viding that the land left vacant as intermediate 
space between lots, and not exceeding ten feet in 
width between any two lots, may be sold to the 
nearest lot holder or holders, at one third of the 
selling price per foot, at the time of such sale, with 
the condition that the said land shall forever be 
kept open, and without interments. The advan- 
tage of this arrangement consists not only in the 
probable increase of the funds of the Corporation 
from the expected sales, but also in the opportunity 
afforded to lot owners who may wish to avail them- 
selves of it, to protect their lots, at a small expense, 
against the eventual occupation of these spaces for 
small lots or single interments — a thing which the 
experience of older cemeteries has shown to be very 
likely to happen. 

The comparative smallness of this year's balance 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 



101 



of stocks, cash, and debts receivable, remaining in 
the Treasurer's hands, is not an index of the true 
pecuniary position of Mount Auburn. It will be 
seen that the purchase of the Stone Farm, the mak- 
ing of land within the Cemetery, and the erection of 
the Superintendent's house, are not expenditures 
but investments — a conversion of more precarious 
stocks into real property at the Cemetery, much 
more certain hereafter to yield an abundant return, 
than any of the funds Avhich have been converted 
for their purchase. It may be safely assumed, that 
the financial position of Mount Auburn was never 
so strong, nor its preservation and embellishments 
so satisfactory to its proprietors, nor so attractive 
to purchasers, as they will be found to be at the 
expiration of the coming year. 

In conformity with the intention which has been 
repeatedly announced, the Trustees have this year 
voted to commence the accumulation of a perma- 
nent fund for the future preservation of the Ceme- 
tery, after all the land shall have been sold. A re- 
port of a Committee has been adopted providing for 
the deposit annually, under certain circumstances, 
of one fifth part of the gross proceeds of the sales 
of lots, with the Massachusetts Hospital Life In- 
surance Company, to accumulate at compound in- 



102 HISTORY OF 

terest for the term of twenty years. Should the 
receipts and necessary expenditures continue about 
the same as they now are, and should the same 
conservative policy which has hitherto governed 
the Trustees continue to be observed by them, 
there is no doubt that an ample permanent fund 
will have been accumulated for the perpetual care 
and preservation of the Cemetery, after all the 
land shall have been disposed of. 

A new Catalogue has been ordered to be printed 
for the use of the Proprietors, which is enlarged 
and corrected up to the present time. 

A code of By-Laws, not before published, has 
now been added, consisting of extracts from the 
recorded standing votes of the Trustees, amended 
and considerably enlarged. 

Respectfully submitted, 

In behalf of the Trustees. 

Jacob Bigelow, President. 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 103 



ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE 
MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY, JANUARY, 1858. 

Since the last Annual Meetino; a new and 
complete Catalogue of the Proprietors of Mount 
Auburn Cemetery has been published, having 
been corrected from former editions with much 
labor and care on the part of the Secretary. 
To this Catalogue has been prefixed a code of 
By-Laws, compiled and digested from the standing 
votes of the Trustees, with such amendments as 
were considered necessary. 

Since the adoption of this code, it has been 
found that the duties therein required of the 
Superintendent were too onerous and diversified 
to be properly performed by one individual. A 
new office has therefore been created, and a new 
By-Law introduced, providing for the appoint- 
ment, and prescribing the duties and powers of 
a Gardener to the Cemetery. The person so 
appointed is to take charge of, and keep in repair, 
the lots of such proprietors as may apply to him 
for that service, and on such terms as may be 
agreed on between the parties ; he is also to keep 
for sale, at some convenient place designated by 



104 HISTORY OF 

the Trustees, shrubs, trees, and flowers, and be 
ready to furnish, plant, or cultivate the same at 
his own expense, and at such price^ and remunera- 
tion as may be agreed on with the purchasers. 
This plan, which costs nothing to the Corporation, 
has been found to work well in other cemeteries 
where it has been tried. 

The Trustees have appointed to this office Mr. 
Anthony Apple, an experienced gardener, and 
have leased to him a piece of ground nearly 
opposite the Gate, on which he has erected a 
conservatory and commenced a garden. The 
destruction of his first green-house, by fire, and 
the consetjuent expense of rebuilding it, entitles 
him to the charitable consideration of those who 
may be likely to need his services. 

The experiment made last year of transplanting 
some doz'ens of large trees in the neighborhood 
of the Gate, has proved eminently successful, not 
one of them having been lost or injured by the 
operation. A someAvhat similar alteration is now 
in progress on the westerly side of the Gate. 

By the liberality of one of the proprietors, the 
sum of one thousand dollars has been expended 
in grading, stoning, and otherwise improving the 
border of Meadow Pond. An open space of two 



MOUNT AUEURN CEMETERY. 105 

thousand square feet, inclosing the fountain at 
the head of the pond, is to be forever kept open 
for ornamental purposes. It is hoped that other 
proprietors may be induced to follow so praise- 
worthy an example. The Trustees have voted 
to appropriate to a similar repair of Forest Pond, 
all sums which may be derived from the sale of 
intermediate spaces between lots bordering on 
this pond. Some of the abutters have already 
subscribed to this object, and it is believed that 
others will be disposed to promote an object bene- 
ficial to themselves and to the Corporation. 

The statues expected from Italy, and intended 
to decorate the interior of the Chapel, have not 
yet arrived. That of Governor Winthrop, by 
Mr. Greenough, is announced as completed in 
Florence, and may be expected here in the Spring 
or sooner. Mr. Crawford's statue of James Otis 
has been unhappily delayed by the death of that 
distinguished and lamented artist. Letters from 
his representatives, however, express the belief 
that it is already completed in Rome, and will 
be forwarded in the course of the Spring. The 
fourth statue, that of John Adams, was shipped 
from Leghorn about the first of September, in 
the Oxford, a vessel reported as deserted at sea, 



106 HISTORY OF 

and probably lost. The amount which would 
have been due on the delivery of this statue, 
was insured by the sculptor, Mr. Kogers, who is 
confident of being able to execute a duplicate 
from the model in the course of another year. 
When these works are completed, and in their 
places, the Corporation will have acquired a 
valuable and most appropriate embellishment, 
giving them precedence over all other cemeteries 
in this country, at an expense not exceeding 
three per cent, of the estimated gross outlay of 
Mount Auburn, or six per cent, of the expendi- 
tures up to the present time. 

Among the auspicious events of the last year 
is the commencement of a permanent fund, pro- 
vided for the support and preservation of the 
Cemetery, after the receipts from land sales shall 
have ceased. A first instalment of three thousand 
five hundred and ten dollars has been paid by 
the Treasurer to the Massachusetts Hospital Life 
Insurance Company, in pursuance of a vote of 
the Trustees, by which it is required that one 
fifth part of the gross proceeds of sales of land 
shall be annually deposited with said company, 
until the whole sum thus deposited, together 
with its accumulations of interest, shall amount 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 107 

to one liundred and fifty thousand dollars. The 
farther to insure the stability of this investment, 
the Trustees have caused to be inserted in every 
new deed of conveyance a covenant binding the 
Corporation to the preservation and increase of 
this permanent fund, so that no future Board of 
Trustees will have the power to misapply or to 
divert any part of it from its legitimate destina- 
tion. 

By the Treasurer's Report it will be seen that 
the receipts of the last year have considerably 
exceeded those of the previous year, while the 
expenditures have been less ; showing that the 
Trustees have thus far been able to keep up 
the same prudent policy which has heretofore 
governed their movements. 

For the Trustees. 

Jacob Bigelow, President. 

Boston, February 1st, 1858. 



108 HISTORY OF 



ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE MOUNT 
AUBURN CEMETERY, JANUARY, 1859. 

In 1831 the Massachusetts Horticultural Society 
purchased the tract of land since inclosed and 
known as the Cemetery of Mount Auburn. The 
principal part of this land was first conditionally 
engaged for a Cemetery by the Corresponding 
Secretary of the Society, and the purchase was not 
completed until one hundred individual subscribers 
for burial lots had been obtained from the commu- 
nity at large, and thus a sufficient sum insured to 
compensate the Society for its outlay. 

It was at first intended to divide the land pur- 
chased into two parts — the one to be occupied as 
a cemetery, and the other as an experimental gar- 
den for horticultural purposes. But in a few 
years it became apparent that the proposed garden 
was not likely to be wanted, and in 1835, under 
an Act of the Legislature, the Horticultural 
Society conveyed the whole land known as Mount 
Auburn to a new Corporation, entitled " The 
Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn." 
By the terms of this conveyance, the new Corpo- 
ration was to pay annually to the Horticultural 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 109 

Society one fourth part of the proceeds of the sales 
of lots, after deducting fourteen hundred dollars, 
which last sum was intended for the defrayment of 
annual expenses. In this way things remained 
until 1858. 

In the meanwhile the Proprietors of Mount 
Auburn had, at sundry times, made additional 
purchases of land in the neighborhood of their 
Cemetery — the greatest of which is that of the 
estate known as the " Stone Farm," on the south- 
erly side of Mount Auburn ; and various questions 
have arisen, both before and since that purchase, 
as to the right of the Horticultural Society to par- 
ticipate in the results of such purchases ; also ,to 
the claim of that Society for a part of the proceeds 
of interments made in " public lots," the fee of 
which is still in the Corporation of Mount Auburn ; 
also in regard to the expense of filling up and 
grading ponds and useless pieces of land so as 
to render them available for cemetery purposes ; 
and also in regard to various other unsettled 
matters. 

With a view to the final adjustment of these and 
any other questions which might remain, the Trus- 
tees of Mount Auburn Cemetery, during the last 
year, appointed a Committee of Conference, to meet 



110 HISTORY OF 

a similar Committee to be appointed on the part of 
the Horticultural Society, and to report terms of 
agreement which might be satisfactory to both 
parties. The Committee of the Proprietors of 
Mount Auburn, consisting of Messrs. Bigelow, 
Gould and Cheever, were met by a Committee of 
the Horticultural Society, consisting of Messrs. 
Stickney, Wilder, Rand, Walker, Austin, and 
Hovey, and a report was agreed on, which was 
afterwards unanimously accepted by both parties 
in interest, and by them carried into effect. An 
Indenture of two parts has been duly executed by 
the two Corporations, under which the parties 
covenant and agree with each other in the manner 
following : — 

" First. That the said Cemetery as now exist- 
ing, and situated south of the street called Mount 
Auburn Street, in Cambridge, together with the 
lands already purchased as an enlargement thereof, 
and all additions which shall hereafter be made to 
the same, shall be held by the said Proprietors, 
and the entire control, management, and direction 
of the same, and of all works and improvements 
therein, and expenditures thereon, shall be and 
remain in the said Proprietors and their officers, 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. Ill 

in as full and complete a manner as the same are 
now vested in and entrusted to them by Act of 
Legislature incorporating the said Proprietors, 
passed on the thirty-first day of March, A. D. 
eighteen hundred and thirty-five. 

Second. The yearly proceeds of all sales of 
lands in the said Cemetery as it now exists, or may 
hereafter be enlaro;ed, too;ether with all amounts 
received for single interments in any public lots or 
receiving tombs, after the deduction of fourteen 
hundred dollars therefrom to be retained by the 
said Proprietors for the purposes stated in said 
Act, shall, on the first Monday in every year, be 
divided between the said Proprietors and the said 
Horticultural Society, according to the terms of 
the said Act, in following proportions, viz : three 
fourths to the said Proprietors, and one fourth to 
the said Society ; and the said Proprietors shall, 
at such time, render to the said Society a just and 
true account of all sales made, and of all moneys 
received by them for such lands and interments 
during the preceding year, and sliall furnish ail 
such vouchers and evidence in regard to the same 
as the said Society may reasonably require. 

TJiird. The sum of nine thousand eight and 
■^1^^ dollars, which on the first day of January next 



112 HISTORY OF 

will be due and owing from the said Horticultural 
Society to the said Proprietors, shall be paid in 
manner following, viz. : The said Proprietors 
shall have the right to retain out of the amount 
which under the provisions of the preceding Ar- 
ticle, will yearly, and in each year, be due and 
payable to the said Society, one full half part 
thereof of the amount so payable, which part so 
retained shall be applied — first, to the payment 
of the yearly interest on the said sum, or on such 
part as shall remain unpaid, and the residue to the 
reduction and final extinguishment of the said 
debt, until the same shall be fully paid and dis- 
charged ; provided, however, that the said Society 
shall have the - right to pay the whole, or any part 
of the said sum at any time. 

Fourth. The said Society hereby covenants 
with the said Proprietors, that whenever the said 
Proprietors shall enclose the lands already pur- 
chased in a manner corresponding with the present 
Cemetery, or otherwise, as they shall see fit, they 
will pay to the said Proprietors one fourth part of 
the cost thereof; and in like manner, in case of 
any future additions to and enlargements of the 
Cemetery, they will pay to the said Proprietors 
one fourth part of the cost of enclosing the same, 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 113 

whenever such enclosure shall be completed — 
the time and making such enclosure to be at the 
discretion of the said Proprietors. 

Fifth, Whenever lands, otherwise unsaleable, 
or unfit for purposes of burial, shall be filled up 
and improved, the cost of such filling up and im 
provement shall first be deducted from the proceeds 
of sales of such lands ; and the residue only shall 
be the amount to be accounted for by the said 
Proprietors, and to be divided between the two 
Corporations in the manner specified in the Second 
Article of this Indenture ; provided, however, that 
the amount of such residue shall never be less than 
fifty cents per square foot — except that interme- 
diate spaces between lots, when not intended for 
burial, may be sold for sixteen and two thirds cents 
per square foot. 

Sixth. In case the said Proprietors shall here- 
after build Receiving Tombs, Catacombs, or Colum- 
baria, in the said Cemetery, the said Horticultural 
Society shall pay one fourth part of the cost 
thereof; and shall be entitled to one fourth part 
of all amounts received for interments therein. 

Seventh. The said Horticultural Society here- 
by release the said Proprietors from all claims 
and demands for or on account of any and all 



114 HISTORY OF 

moneys received, or wliicli shall be received, by 
the said Proprietors for single interments in the 
said Cemetery prior to the first of January next. 

Eighth. It is understood and agreed that the 
said Horticultural Society have no interest in the 
lands situated on the northerly side of Mount 
Auburn Street, on vrhich the Gardener's House 
now stands, and the said Society hereby expressly 
disclaims all right and title and interest therein." 

It will be seen by the foregoing extracts that the 
Horticultural Society pay to the Proprietors of the 
Cemetery the sum of 9008 dollars 49 cents, this 
beins: the balance which would be due on the esti- 
mated cost, interest and present value of one fourth 
part of the lands newly purchased, after deducting 
the necessary off-sets. And the Society farther 
agrees to pay one fourth part of the expense of an 
iron fence, &c., round the newly acquired land 
whenever the same shall be erected. On the other 
hand, the Proprietors of Mount Auburn agree to 
place the new lands on the same footing as the old 
Cemetery, and to pay to the Horticultural Society 
one fourth part of the proceeds of all sales of these 
lands after the usual deduction has been made. 

The other unsettled questions have been adjusted 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 115 

in a spirit of compromise and mutual concession, 
and are believed to be equitable, and entirely 
satisfactory to both parties. 

Since the last Annual Meetino;, two of the 
historic statues, destined for the interior of the 
Chapel, have arrived from Italy, and are now on 
their pedestals. These are the statues of Governor 
Winthrop, by R. S. Greenough, and of James 
Otis, by Crawford. The fourth statue, that of 
John Adams, having been lost at sea, a duplicate 
has been undertaken by the artist, Mr. Rogers, 
and is promised to arrive in the course of the com- 
ing Spring. The execution, and acquisition of 
these appropriate works of art, are alike creditable 
to the Corporation, and to the eminent sculptors by 
whom they have been formed. 

The repairing and edging with stone, of Auburn 
Lake (formerly Meadow Pond) has been com- 
pleted, and an avenue made round its lower half, 
crossing the middle of the lake by a handsome 
bridge, passable for carriages. A corresponding 
improvement, in stoning up the border of Forest 
Pond, is in contemplation for the next season. 
Improvements in grading avenues and moving 
trees west of the gate have been made, and others 
are in progress, together with the extension of 



116 HISTORY OF 

sundry drains, and the completion of new paths in 
different parts of the ground. The Trustees have 
voted to expend one thousand dollars annually in 
the gradual filling, reclaiming, and improving of 
sunken lands, which have a prospective value. 

The tract of unoccupied ground in the front of 
the Cemetery, between Garden Pond and the road, 
constituting one of the most desirable parts of 
Mount Auburn, is in process of being surveyed, 
and the lots will be offered for sale early in the 
Spring. 

The Trustees have voted that lots for tombs on 
the hill-sides, in such places as the Committee on 
Lots shall approve, may be sold at fifty cents per 
square foot, on the purchasers binding themselves 
to erect no tomb or repository which shall not be 
made air-tight, to the satisfaction of the Committee 
on Lots. 

By the Treasurer's Report it will be seen that 
the financial affairs of the Corporation are in a 
safe and prosperous condition. The sales of land 
during the last year have amounted to $24,434.65, 
exceeding those of the previous year by $3836. 
The Permanent Fund for the future preservation 
of the Cemetery, which was auspiciously com- 
menced last year, has been this year increased by 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 117 

$5678, making the present total amount of that 
fund, 19390.33. Besides which the Corporation 
have always a large reserve beyond their liabili- 
ties, more than adequate to meet all anticipated 
expenses. 

In behalf of the Trustees, 

Jacob Bigelovt, President. 



CAUTIONARY SUGGESTIONS. 

The experience of nearly thirty years which 
have elapsed since the foundation of Mount 
Auburn, has furnished useful instruction in regard 
to the management and safe preservation of this 
public trust in time to come. Its record may 
also yield profitable information for other estab- 
lishments which may hereafter be founded on its 
example. Considered in regard to its success, 
and the rapid growth which has followed its 
original movement. Mount Auburn has surpassed 
the expectations of the most sanguine of its 
promoters. Yet it is easy to perceive, at this 
period, that if its progress and extent could have 



118 HISTORY OF 

been fully foreseen, various arrangements, both of 
convenience and economy, could have been more 
perfectly carried out, and, doubtless, some errors 
avoided in its manao-ement. 

The Committee, who were originally charged 
with the duty of laying out the grounds, made 
their paths and avenues with reference to the 
grade of the surface and facility of access to all 
parts of the Cemetery. The lots, also, were 
placed for the most part on level spots, and 
frequently where the purchasers chose to have 
them, without regard to the economy of the land, 
or to the size and shape of the intermediate 
spaces. The experience of late years has induced 
the Trustees to make both the paths and lots 
more parallel to each other, and with as little 
space between them as is consistent with their 
good appearance. An adherence to this plan 
hereafter, by preventing waste, will render the 
unsold land more productive, without in any way 
injuring the general appearance of the place. 
Proprietors, however, who may desire to control 
more land, for use or ornament, can always do 
so by purchasing it. At present, a space of 
six feet in front is allowed to every purchaser, 
between his lot and the avenue or path. And 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 119 

the Trustees liave carefully avoided infringing 
on the intermediate space existing between lots, 
except when it is unnecessarily large. But it 
may happen hereafter, that, when all the lots in 
the Cemetery are sold, some future Board of 
Trustees may be importuned or tempted to sell 
these intermediate spaces, as has happened in old 
cemeteries in Europe and elsewhere. The only 
perfect security against all such encroachment 
is for the proprietors to protect themselves, if they 
see fit, by purchasing the immediate space or 
border adjoining them, at its present reduced 
and very small price, as seen in the By-Laws. 

The multiplication of trees has already become 
in Mount Auburn a serious evil. The original 
wood has apparently more than doubled its 
boughs and foliage since the beginning of the 
Cemetery. The ground, as seen from the top 
of the tower, now looks like a dense, impenetrable 
forest, in which most of the monuments are 
concealed from view by the contiguous branches. 
Where young firs and other evergreens are 
planted, the level prospect is also wholly inter- 
cepted, and the visitor, in many cases, cannot 
see many rods in advance of his eyes. The 
Trustees have endeavored in part to abate this 



120 



HISTORY OF 



evil by tliinniiig out the wood, pruning branches, 
and cutting away useless trees ; and this work 
is still in gradual progress. But over the trees 
belonging to individual proprietors, or growing 
on lots, they have no control, except in obedience 
to the laws and the wishes of the owners. If 
application is made to the Superintendent, trees 
can always be removed without expense to the 
proprietors. 

The custom of continually planting new trees 
rapidly increases the evil, as will become apparent 
Avhen the young trees, now set out, shall have 
attained the age of ten or of fifty years. When 
trees stand too thickly together, as they do in 
natural woods, the under branches die for want 
of sunshine, and are eventually converted into 
dead limbs or unseemly knots. And, in like 
manner, the interlockino; branches of contiguous 
trees reciprocally destroy each other, so that 
when one of a pair is cut down, a hemispherical 
or half tree remains of the other. Trees planted 
with reference to their free growth and ultimate 
good appearance, should not stand nearer than 
thirty feet, or about two rods apart, — as is seen 
in the elms and other trees of Boston Mall and 
Common. Pines, firs, and evergreen trees, except 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 121 

when planted in clumps for ornament, where land 
is abundant, require still greater distance. When 
immediate effect is required, young trees may be 
planted one rod from each other, and, at a subse- 
sequent period, the alternate ones may be removed 
as soon as they have acquired a height of twenty 
feet. 

The perfection of Mount Auburn, as far as its 
natui'al features are concerned, would be attained 
by diminishing the trees to less than one half of 
their present number, — leaving broad vistas and 
open spaces, through which the works of art 
could be seen ; and the light of the sun might 
be admitted to the grass and cultivated flowers, 
to the health of which it is indispensable. Rows 
of trees are wanted only on the principal avenues, 
while, in other places, flowers and low flowering 
shrubs, varied according to the requirements of 
individual taste, with a few trees left only in 
unobjectionable places, would greatly improve the 
picturesque eff'ect of the Cemetery. To purchasers 
who look forward, to the prospective beauty of 
appearance, the open grounds now existing on 
the north and south extremes of the Cemetery 
are more eligible, from their capacity of improve- 
ment, than the dense and central parts now 



122 HISTORY OF 

occupied by the wood. On such grounds a very 
few trees are all that can be wanted ; and the 
experience of the last three years has shown 
that trees twenty and thirty feet high may be 
transplanted at small expense, and with perfect 
safety; and such trees may always be had of the 
Superintendent. But, where trees are already 
growing on the avenues, a correct taste, and a 
regard to the future, will probably induce proprie- 
tors to introduce only low shrubs and herbaceous 
plants, and even these 'with a judicious frugality. 
As far as good appearance is concerned, the 
borders of a common lot may contain roses, 
laurels, and rhododendrons, in moderate num- . 
bers, whereas one elm tree is often sufficient 
for an acre. The pyramidal fir trees which now 
in some places are cumbersome, from their thick- 
ness, should at least have their lower branches 
trimmed away above the height of the spectator's 
eye. Many of them ought to be wholly removed. 
Common gravel is an article of indispensable 
use in an establishment lil^e Mount Auburn. 
Great quantities are required for the making of 
roads, the grading of lots, and the filling of 
hollows and ponds. The Trustees, not foreseeing 
the extraordinary growth and rapid occupation of 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 123 

the land in the Cemetery, have unfortunately sold 
to applicants, from time to time, the best hills 
and gravelly knolls within the enclosure. The 
necessity, therefore, becomes more imperative, 
that spots containing the remaining sources of 
supply should not be sold until the gravelly 
eminences have been first removed for use. 

Mount Auburn has been increased at various 
times until it now covers a space nearly three 
times as large as Boston Common. This is quite 
as much as one Superintendent can properly take 
care of. For the convenient administration of 
the place hereafter, it may be hoped that future 
Boards of Trustees will resist the occasional 
temptation to annex indefinitely such pieces of 
adjacent land as may be offered to them. When- 
ever the Cemetery shall be filled, and its per- 
manent fund adequate to defray the expense 
of its annual support, it is better that new 
establishments should be created elsewhere, than 
that Mount Auburn should become unwieldy, 
and its care difiicult, if not impracticable, fi'om 
its overo-rown size. There must be a line at 
which it will be necessary to stop, and that line 
has probably been attained already. 

The permanent fund is a sacred deposit upon 



124 HISTORY OF 

which alons the institution is to depend for its 
support after the land shall have been sold. Its 
only danger to be apprehended is from the 
cupidity of speculators who, at some future 
period, may so manage as to obtain temporary 
control of this fund for improper purposes, — 
an occurrence not unknown in the financial his- 
tory of various institutions in our country. 

The present Board of Trustees have endeavored 
to protect this fund by a covenant, giving to 
eveiy new purchaser a claim on the Corporation 
for the preservation of the fund entire. This 
security lasts until the amount of the fund shall 
have reached one hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars, when the income may be drawn out 
and the principal gradually re-invested under 
certain conditions. It is to be trusted that the 
Corporation will always elect Trustees who will 
respect the security, rather than an alleged 
increase in the productiveness of a fund which 
is essential and even vital to the support of the 
establishment after the revenue from the sale of 
land has ceased. 

It has hitherto been the policy of the Trus- 
tees to keep on hand a considerable invested 
surplus, which can be drawn upon in case of 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 125 

emergency, and which, if not wanted, goes to 
swell by its interest the income of the Corpora- 
tion. The continual call for repairs, which 
increases as there are more miles of road to be 
kept in order, and more rods of fence to be 
painted or replaced, can only be met by a careful 
provision of this sort. The present yearly excess 
of the receipts over the expenditures, even after 
deducting the amount annually paid to the per- 
manent fund, is amply sufficient for the wants 
of the establishment. But a large reserve will 
hereafter be needed to complete the iron fence 
around the Stone Farm ; to replace the western 
wooden fence when it shall have decayed ; to 
finish the drains and catacombs now in progress ; 
to excavate bogs and build stone borders to 
lakes, — together with unforeseen exigencies, 
which, if taken in hand now, would speedily 
exhaust the whole available capital of the insti- 
tution. Yet all these improvements will silently 
and gradually come to pass, without risk or 
inconvenience, if the Board adhere to their 
uniform previous policy of not making improve- 
ments faster than they are actually wanted and 
can certainly be paid for. 

A good economy will obviously require thjvt 



126 HISTORY OF 

tlie various structures belonging to the Corpora- 
tion should be kept in thorough repair. Roofs, 
windows, paint and pointing of joints, require 
regular and prompt attention in this respect, 
for reasons which need no explanation. 

The good appearance of buildings depends 
quite as much upon their site and aspect as 
upon their intrinsic structure. No edifice can 
appear to advantage which is covered up or 
interfered with by others of equal size in its 
immediate proximity. It is to be hoped that 
the open spaces now existing about the Tower, 
the Chapel, and the Gate, will never be en- 
croached on by any subordinate constructions 
in their immediate neighborhood. It seems not 
improbable that the Trustees will at some day 
see the propriety of conveying these spaces in 
trust, with the condition that they shall forever 
be kept open, and not occupied as places either 
for building . or interment. 

A few suggestions in regard to the occupation 
and improvement of individual lots will not be 
superfluous in this place. Mount Auburn was 
begun under the expectation that single inter- 
ments in the earth, in separate graves, would 
take the place of tombs or common receptacles, 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 127 

tlie tenants of which, it is well known, have 
but a temporary and precarious occupancy, as 
these things are usually managed by the remoter 
friends and successors of the deceased. The 
following short article, published early in the 
Daily Advertiser, conveys the sentiments on this 
subject of the founders of Mount Auburn : — 

"It is a part of the original design of this 
establishment, though not an obligatory one, that 
interments shall be made in single or separate 
graves, rather than in tombs. The abundant 
space afforded by the extensiveness of the tract 
which has been purchased, precludes the necessity 
of constructing vaults for the promiscuous con- 
centration of numbers. It is believed that the 
common grave aifords the most simple, natural, 
and secure method by which the body may 
return to the bosom of the earth, to be peace- 
fully blended with its original dust. Whatever 
consolation can be derived from the gathering 
together of members of the same families, is 
provided for by the appropriation of lots, each 
sufficient for a family, while the provision that 
the same spot or grave shall not be twice 
occupied for interment, secures to the buried 
an assurance of undisturbed rest, not always 
found in more costly constructions. 



128 HISTORY OF 

On the same subject another consideration 
may be added. It is desired that the place 
may become beautiful, attractive, consoling, — 
not gloomy and repulsive, — that what the 
earth has once covered it shall not again reveal 
to light, — that the resources of art shall not be 
wasted in vain efforts to delay or modify the 
inevitable courses of nature. It is hoped, there- 
fore, that any sums which individuals may think 
it proper to devote to the improvement of the 
place of sepulture of themselves and their 
friends, may be expended above the surface of 
the earth, — not under it. A beautiful monu- 
ment is interesting to every one. A simple bed 
of roses under the broad canopy of heaven, is a 
more approachable, a far more soothing object, 
than the most costly charnel-house." 

Some of the first tombs constructed in the 
side hills at Mount Auburn became offensive 
from the escape of gas through their upright 
iron doors, the crevices of which are never 
made permanently tight. On this account, the 
Trustees for a time restricted them to the most 
distant or outside avenues. Afterwards they 
were permitted in places approved by the Trus- 
tees, provided they are made in a strong, tight, 



MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 129 

and durable manner, and every part, includ- 
ing the door, at least one foot underground. 
Finally, a vote was passed, Oct. 4th, 1858, 
" That lots for tombs on the hill sides, in such 
places as the Committee on Lots shall approve, 
may be sold at fifty cents per square foot, on 
the purchasers binding themselves to erect no 
tomb or repository which shall not be made air 
tight, to the satisfaction of the Committee on 
Lots." 

The mode of interment now most common at 
Mount Auburn is that in simple graves, after- 
wards designated by headstones or some other 
mark. Where the most permanent security is 
desired, a separate inclosure of the grave is 
made of bricks and cement, and afterwards 
covered with a flat stone. When tombs are 
built, their best construction is found to be that 
which is in imitation of the ancient columbaria^ 
in which a subterranean apartment is provided 
on one or more sides, with cavities like pigeon 
holes, the mouths of which are to be tightly 
closed with bricks and cement, or with a flat 
stone. The general name of catacombs is ap- 
plied to these at Mount Auburn and at some 
other places. 
9 



PART II. 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, REGULATIONS, 
DOCUJIENTS, &c. 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 



*' It liaring been considered important, that the public should 
be generally informed as to the character of the two associated 
establishments, the Hon. Edward Everett was requested to 
prepare an Address, explanatory of the objects which it was 
proposed to accomplish ; and he furnished the following, which 
was published in the Boston papers." — Horticultural Proceed- 
ings, 1832. 

THE PROPOSED RURAL CEMETERY. 

At tlie late session of the General Court, an 
Act was passed, enlarging the powers of the Horti- 
cultural Society in such a manner, as to enable it 
to establish a rural cemetery, in connection witli 
the experimental garden, which forms a part of 
the original plan of that Society. Preliminary 
steps have been taken to exercise the powers 



134 ADDEESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

granted by this additional act of incorporation. 
The subject has been under the consideration of 
a large and highly respectable committee, selected 
for their known interest in the design ; and a plan 
of measures to be pursued, for carrying the object 
into effect, has been prepared and adopted. 

The spot, which has been selected for this 
establishment, has not been chosen without great 
deliberation, and a reference to every other place 
in the vicinity of Boston, which has been named 
for the same purpose. In fact, the difficulty of 
finding a proper place has been for several years 
the chief obstacle to the execution of this project. 
The spot chosen is as near Boston as is consistent 
with perfect security from the approach of those 
establishments, usually found in the neighborhood 
of a large town, but not in harmony with the 
character of a place of burial. It stands near a 
fine sweep in Charles River. It presents every 
variety of surface, rising in one part into a beau- 
tiful elevation, level in others, with intermediate 
depressions, and a considerable part of the whole 
covered with the natural growth of wood. In 
fact, the place has long been noted for its rural 
beauty, its romantic seclusion, and its fine pros- 
pect ; and it is confidently believed, that there is 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 135 

not another to be named, possessing tlie same 
union of advantages. 

It is propesed to set apart a considerable portion 
of this dehghtful spot, for the purpose of a burial 
place. Little will be required from the hand of 
art to fit it for that purpose. Nature has already 
done almost all that is required. Scarcely any 
thing is needed but a suitable enclosure, and such 
walks as will give access to the different parts of 
the enclosed space, and exhibits features to the 
greatest advantage. It is proposed, (as it appears 
from the report above cited,) to divide the parts 
of the tract, be?t adapted to that purpose, into lots, 
containing two hundred or more square feet, to be 
used by individuals becoming proprietors of them, 
for the purposes of burial. It will be at the option 
of those interested, to build tombs of the usual 
construction on these lots, or to make graves in 
them, when occasion may require ; identifying the 
lot by a single monument, or the graves by sepa- 
rate stones, or leaving the whole without any 
other ornament than the green turf and the over- 
shadowino; trees. 

By the act of the Legislature, authorizing the 
Horticultural Society to establish this Cemetery, 
it is placed under the protection of the laws, and 



136 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC, 

consecrated to the perpetual occupancy of the 
dead. Being connected with the adjacent experi- 
mental garden, it will be under the constant 
inspection of the Society's Gardener, and thus 
possess advantages, in reference to the care and 
neatness with which it will be kept, not usually 
found in places of burial. A formal act of 
dedication, with religious solemnities, will impart 
to it a character of sanctity, and consecrate it to 
the sacred purposes for which it is destined. 

It is a matter of obvious consideration, that, 
with the rapid increase of the city of Boston, 
many years cannot elapse, before ^he deposit of 
the dead within its limits must cease. It is 
already attended with considerable difficulty, and 
is open to serious objections. The establishment 
now contemplated, presents an opportunity for 
all, who wish to enjoy it, of providing a place of 
burial for those, for whom it is their duty, to make 
such provision. The space is ample, affording 
room for as large a number of lots, as may be 
required for a considerable length of time ; and the 
price at which they are now to be purchased, it 
is believed, is considerably less than that of tombs, 
in the usual places of their construction. 

Although no one, whose feelings and principles 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 137 

are sound, can regard, without tenderness and 
delicacy, the question, where he will deposit the 
remains of those, whom it is his duty to follow to 
their last home, yet it may be feared, that too 
little thought has been had for the decent aspect 
of our places of sepulture, or their highest adap- 
tation to their great object. Our burial places- 
are, in the cities, crowded till they are full ; nor, 
in general, does any other object, either in town 
or country, appear to have been had in view in 
them, than that of confining the remains of the 
departed to the smallest portion of earth that will 
hide them. Trees, whose inexpressible beauty 
has been provided by the hand of the Creator as 
the great ofnament of the earth, have rarely been 
planted about our graveyards ; the enclosures are 
generally inadequate and neglected, the graves 
indecently crowded together, and often, after a 
few years, disturbed ; aiid the whole appearance 
as little calculated as possible to invite the A^sits 
of the seriously disposed, to tranquillize the feel- 
ings of surviving friends, and to gratify that dispo- 
sition which would lead us to pay respect to their 
ashes. 

Nor has it hitherto been in the power even of 
those, who might be able and willing to do it, to 



138 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

remedy these evils, as far as they are themselves 
concerned. Great objections exist to a place of 
sepulture in a private field ; particularly this, 
that in a few years it is likely to pass into the 
hands of those, who will take no interest in pre- 
serving its sacred deposit from the plough. The 
mother of Washington lies buried in a field, the 
property of a person not related to her family, and 
in a spot which cannot now be identified. In the 
public graveyard it is not always in the power 
of an individual to appropriate to a single place 
of burial, space enough for the purposes of decent 
and respectful ornament. 

The proposed establishment seems to furnish 
every facility for gratifying the desire, which must 
rank among the purest and strongest of the human 
heart, and which would have been much more 
frequently indicated, but for the very serious, and 
sometimes insuperable obstacles of which we have 
spoken. Here it will be in the power of every 
one, who may wish it, at an expense considerably 
less than that of a common tomb, or a vault 
beneath a church, to deposit the mortal remains 
of his friends, and to provide a place of burial for 
himself, which, while living, he may contemplate 
without dread or disgust; one which is secure 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 139 

from the danger of being encroached upon, as in 
the graveyards of the city ; secluded from every 
species of uncongenial intrusion ; surrounded with 
everything that can fill the heart with tender and 
respectful emotions ; beneath the shade of a vener- 
able tree, on the slope of the verdant lawn, and 
within the seclusion of the forest ; removed from 
all the discordant scenes of life. 

Such were the places of burial of the ancient 
nations. In a spot like this were laid the remains 
of the patriarchs of Israel. In the neighborhood 
of their great cities the ancient Egyptians estab- 
lished extensive cities of the dead ; and the Greeks 
and Romans erected the monuments of the 
departed by the road side, on the approach to 
their cities, or in pleasant groves in their suburbs. 
A part of the Grove of Academus, near Athens, 
famous for the school of Plato, was appropriated 
to the sepulchres of their men of renown ; and it 
was the saying of Themistocles, that the monu- 
ments he beheld there would not permit him to 
sleep. The " Appian Way" was lined with the 
monuments of the heroes and sao-es of Rome. In 
modern times, the Turkish people are eminent for 
that respectful care of the places of sepulture, 
which forms an interesting trait of the oriental 



140 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

character. At the head and foot of each grave, 
a cypress tree is planted, so that the graveyard 
becomes, in a few years, a deep and shady grove. 
These sacred precincts are never violated ; they 
form the most beautiful suburbs to the cities, and, 
not unfrequently, when the city of the living has 
been swept away by the political vicissitudes, 
frequent under that government, the Grove of 
Cypress remains, spreading its sacred shelter over 
the city of the dead. 

In the city of Boston, the inconveniences of the 
present modes of burial are severely felt ; and it is 
as a becoming appendage and interesting ornament 
of the town, that this Cemetery should be regarded. 
When it shall be laid out with suitable walks, and 
the appropriate spots shall begin to be adorned 
with the various memorials which affection and 
respect may erect to the departed, what object in 
or near Boston will be equally attractive ? What 
would sooner arrest the attention of the stranger ? 
Whither would a man of reflection and serious 
temper sooner direct his steps? Had such a 
Cemetery, with prophetic forethought of posterity, 
been laid out in the first settlement of the country, 
and all our venerated dead, — the eminent in 
church and state, — been deposited side by side. 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 141 

with plain but enduring monuments, it would 
possess already an interest of the most elevated 
and affecting character. Such a place of deposit 
is Pere la Chaise, near Paris, which has already 
become a spot of the greatest interest and attrac- 
tion, furnishing the model to similar establishments 
in various parts of Europe, and well deserving to 
be had in view, in that which is in contemplation 
here. 

The vicinity of our venerable University sug- 
gests an interesting train of associations, connected 
with this spot. It has ever been the favorite 
resort of the students. There are hundreds now 
living, who have passed some of the happiest hoars 
of the happiest period of their lives, beneath the 
shade of the trees in this secluded forest. It will 
become the place of burial for the University. 
Here will the dust of the young men, who may 
be cut off before their academic course is run, be 
laid by their class-mates. Here will be deposited 
those who may die in the offices of instruction and 
government. Nor is it impossible, that the several 
class-associations, which form a beautiful feature 
of our college life, may each appropriate to them- 
selves a lot, where such of their brethren as may 
desire it, may be brought back to be deposited in 



142 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

the soil of the spot where they passed their early 
years. 

The establishment contemplated will afford the 
means of paying a tribute of respect, by a monu- 
mental erection, to the names and memory of great 
and good men, whenever or wherever they have 
died. Its summit may be consecrated to Wash- 
ington, by a cenotaph inscribed with his name. 
Public sentiment will often delight in these tributes 
of respect, and the place may gradually become 
the honorary mausoleum for the distinguished sons 
of Massachusetts. 

This design, though but recently made public, 
has been long in contemplation, and, as is believed, 
has been favored with unusual approbation. It 
has drawn forth much unsolicited and earnest 
concurrence. It has touched a chord of sym- 
pathy which vibrates in every heart. Let us 
take an affectionate and pious care of our dead ; 
let us turn to some good account, in softening and 
humanizing the public feeling, that sentiment of 
tenderness toward the departed, which is natural 
and ineradicable in man. Let us employ some 
of the superfluous wealth, now often expended 
in luxury worse than useless, in rendering the 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 143 

place where our beloved friends repose, decent, 
attractive, and grateful at once to the eye and the 
heart. 



AN ADDRESS DELIVERED ON THE DEDICATION OF 
THE CEMETERY AT MOUNT AUBURN, SEPTEM- 
BER 24th, 1831. By Joseph Story. 

My Friends, — 

The occasion which brings us together, has 
much in it calculated to awaken our sensibilities, 
and cast a solemnity over our thoughts. 

We are met to consecrate these grounds exclu- 
sively to the service and repose of the dead. 

The duty is not new ; for it has been performed 
for countless millions. The scenery is not new ; 
for the hill and the valley, the still, silent dell, and 
the deep forest, have often been devoted to the 
same pious purpose. But that, which must always 
give it a peculiar interest, is, that it can rarely 
occur except at distant intervals ; and, whenever 
it does, it must address itself to feelino-s intellio-ible 
to all nations, and common to all hearts. 

The patriarchal language of four thousand years 



144 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

ago is precisely that, to which we would now give 
utterance. We are " strangers and sojourners" 
here. We have need of " a possession of a bury- 
ing-place, tliat we may bury our dead out of our 
•sight." Let us have " the field, and the cave 
which is therein ; and all the trees, that are in the 
field, and that are in the borders round about ; " 
and let them " be made sure for a possession of a 
burying-place." 

It is the duty of the living thus to provide for 
the dead. It is not a mere office of pious regard 
for others ; but it comes home to our own bosoms, 
as those who are soon to enter upon the common 
inheritance. 

If there are any feelings of our nature, not 
bounded by earth, and yet stopping slaort of the 
skies, which are more strong and more universal 
than all others, they will be found in our solicitude 
as to the time and place and manner of our death ; 
in the desire to die in the arms of our friends ; to 
have the last sad offices to our remains performed 
by their affection ; to repose in the land of our 
nativity ; to be gathered to the sepulchres of our 
fathers. It is almost impossible for us to feel, nay, 
even to feign, indifference on such a subject. 

Poetry has told us this truth in lines of trans- 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 145 

cendent beauty and force, Avhicli find a response 
in every breast : — 

" For who, to dumb Forgetfulness a prey, 

This pleasing, anxious being e'er resigned. 
Left the •warm precincts of the cheerful day. 
Nor cast one longing, lingering look behind ? 

On some fond breast the parting soul relies ; 

Some pious drops the closing e^^e requires; 
E'en from the tomb the voice of Nature cries; 

E'en in our ashes live their wonted fires." 

It is in vain, that Philosophy has informed us, 
that the whole earth is but a point in the eyes of 
its Creator, — nay, of his own creation ; that, 
wherever we are, — abroad or at home, — on the 
restless ocean, or the solid land, — we are still 
under the protection of his providence, and safe, 
as it were, in the hollow of his hand. It is in 
vain that Religion has . instructed us, that we are 
but dust, and to dust we shall return, — that 
whether our remains are scattered to the corners 
of the earth, or gathered in sacred urns, there is a 
sure and certain hope of a resurrection of the body 
and a life everlasting. These truths, sublime and 
glorious as they are, leave untouched the feelings, 
of which I have spoken, or, rather, they impart 
to them a more enduring reality. Dust as we are, 
10 



146 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

the frail tenements, which enclose our spirits but 
for a season, are dear, are inexpressibly dear to 
us. We derive solace, nay, pleasure from the 
reflection, that when the hour of separation comes, 
these earthly remains will still retain the tender 
regard of those whom we leave behind ; — that 
the spot, where they shall lie, will be remembered 
with a fond and soothing reverence; — that our 
children will visit it in the midst of their sorrows ; 
and our kindred in remote generations feel that a 
local inspiration hovers round it. 

Let him speak, who has been on a pilgrimage of 
health to a foreign land. Let him speak, who 
has watched at the couch of a dying friend, far 
from his chosen home. Let him speak, who has 
committed to the bosom of the deep, with a sud- 
den, startling plunge, the narrow shroud of some 
relative or companion. Let such speak, and they 
will tell you, that there is nothing which wrings 
the heart of the dying, — ay, and of the surviving, 
— with sharper agony, than the thought, that 
they are to sleep their last sleep in the land of 
strangers, or in the unseen depths of the ocean. 

" Bury me not, I pray thee," said the patriarch 
Jacob, *' bury me not in Egypt : but I will lie 
with my fathers. And thou shalt carry me out 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 147 

^^ Eg}T^ j ^^^^^ t)uiy me in tlieir burying place." 
— " There tliej buried Abraham and Sarah his 
wife ; there they buried Isaac and Rebecca his 
wife ; and there I buried Leah." 

Such are the natural expressions of human feel- 
ing, as they fall from the lips of the dying. Such 
are the reminiscences, that forever crowd on the 
confines of the passes to the grave. We seek 
again to have our home there with our friends, 
and to be blest by a communion with them. It 
is a matter of instinct, not of reasonino^. It is a 
spiritual impulse, which supersedes belief, and 
disdains question. 

But it is not chiefly in regard to the feelings 
belonging to our own mortality, however sacred 
and natural, that we should contemplate the estab- 
lishment of repositories of this sort. There are 
higher moral purposes, and more affecting con- 
siderations, which belong to the subject. We 
should accustom ourselves to view them rather 
as means, than as ends ; rather as influences to 
govern human conduct, and to moderate human 
suffering, than as cares incident to a selfish fore- 
sight. 

It is to the living mourner — to the parent, 
weeping over his dear dead child — to the hus- 



148 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

band, dwelling in his own solitary desolation — 
to the widow, whose heart is broken by untimely 
sorrow — to the friend, who misses at every turn 
the presence of some kindred spirit : — it is to 
these, that the repositories of the dead bring home 
thoughts full of admonition, of instruction, and, 
slowly but surely, of consolation also. They ad- 
monish us, by their very silence, of our own frail 
and transitory being. They instruct us in the 
true value of life, and in its noble purposes, its 
duties, and its destination. They spread around 
us, in the reminiscences of the past, sources of 
pleasing, though melancholy reflection. 

We dwell with pious fondness on the characters 
and virtues of the departed ; and, as time inter- 
poses its growing distances between us and them, 
we gather up, with more solicitude, the broken 
fragments of memory, and weave, as it were, into 
our very hearts, the threads of their history. As 
we sit down by their graves, we seem to hear the 
tones of their affection, whispering in our ears. 
We listen to the voice of their wisdom, speaking 
in the depths of our souls. We shed our tears ; 
but they are no longer the burning tears of agony. 
They relieve our drooping spirits, and come no 
longer over us with a deathly faintness. We 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 149 

return to the world, and we feel ourselves purer, 
and better, and wiser, from this communion with 
the dead. 

I have spoken but of feelings and associations 
common to all ages, and all generations of men — 
to the rude and the polished — to the barbarian 
and the civilized — to the bond and the free — to 
the inhabitant of the dreary forests of the north, 
and the sultry regions of the south — to the wor- 
shipper of the sun, and the worshipper of idols — 
to the Heathen, dwelling in the darkness of his 
cold mythology, and to the Christian, rejoicing in 
the light of the true God. Everywhere we trace 
them in the characteristic remains of the most 
distant ages and nations, and as far back as hu- 
man history carries its traditionary outlines. 
They are found in the barrows, and cairns, and 
mounds of olden times, reared by the uninstructed 
affection of savage tribes ; and, everywhere, the 
spots seem to have been selected with the same 
tender regard to the living and the dead ; that the 
magnificence of nature mio-ht administer comfort 
to human sorrow, and incite human sympathy. 

The aborig-inal Germans buried their dead in 
groves consecrated by their priests. The Egyp- 
tians gratified their pride and soothed their grief, 



150 ADDRESSES, EEPORTS, ETC. 

by interring tliem in their Elysian fields, or em- 
balming them in their vast catacombs, or enclosing 
them in their stupendous pyramids, the wonder of 
all succeeding ages. The Hebrews watched with 
religious care over their places of burial. They 
selected, for this purpose, ornamented gardens and 
deep forests, and fertile valleys, and lofty moun- 
tains ; and they still designate them with a sad 
emphasis, as the " House of the Living." The 
ancient Asiatics lined the approaches to their cities 
with sculptured sarcophagi, and mausoleums, and 
other ornaments, embowered in shrubbery, traces of 
which may be seen among their magnificent ruins. 
The Greeks exhausted the resources of their ex- 
quisite art in adorning the habitations of the 
dead. They discouraged interments within the 
limits of their cities ; and consigned their relics 
to shady groves, in the neighborhood of murmur- 
ing streams and mossy fountains, close by the 
favorite resorts of those who were engaged in the 
study of philosophy and nature, and called them, 
with the elegant expressiveness of their own beau- 
tiful language. Cemeteries,* or " Places of 
Repose." The Romans, faithful to the example 

* Xo l,u yjrriQia — literally, places of sleep. 



•addresses, reports, etc. 151 

of Greece, erected the monuments to the dead in 
the suburbs of the eternal city, (as they proudly 
denominated it,) on the sides of their spacious 
roads, in the midst of trees and ornamental walks, 
and ever-varying flowers. The Appian Way was 
crowded with columns, and obelisks, and cenotaphs 
to the memory of her heroes and sages ; and, at 
every turn, the short but touching inscription met 
the eye, — Siste Viator, — Pause Traveller, — 
inviting at once to sympathy and thoughtfulness. 
Even the humblest Roman could read on the 
humblest gravestone the kind offering — "May 
the earth lie lightly on these remains ! "* And 
the Moslem Successors of the emperors, indiflPerent 
as they may be to the ordinary exhibitions of the 
fine arts, place their burying-grounds in rural 
retreats, and embellish them with studious taste 
as a religious duty. The cypress is planted at 
the head and foot of every grave, and waves with 
a mournful solemnity over it. These devoted 
grounds possess an inviolable sanctity. The rav- 
ages of war never reach them ; and victory and 
defeat equally respect the limits of their domain. 
So that it has been remarked, with equal truth 

* "Sit tibi terra levis." 



152 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

and beauty, tliat while the cities of the living are 
subject to all the desolations and vicissitudes inci- 
dent to human affairs, the cities of the dead enjoy 
an undisturbed repose, without even the shadow 
of change. 

But I will not dwell upon facts of this nature. 
They demonstrate, however, the truth, of which I 
have spoken. They do more ; they furnish re- 
flections suitable for our own thoughts on the 
present occasion. 

If this tender regard for the dead be so abso- 
lutely universal, and so deeply founded in human 
aflection, why is it not made to exert a more pro- 
found influence on our lives? Why do we not 
enlist it with more persuasive energy in the cause 
of human improvement ? Why do we not en- 
large it as a source of religious consolation ? Why 
do we not make it a more efficient instrument to 
elevate Ambition, to stimulate Genius, and to 
dignify Learning ? Why do w^e not connect it 
indissolubly with associations, which charm us in 
Nature and engross us in Art ? Why do we not 
dispel from it that unlovely gloom, from which 
our hearts turn as from a darkness that ensnares, 
and a horror that appals our thoughts ? 

To many, nay, to most of the heathen, the 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 153 

buryiiig-place was the end of all things. They 
indulged no hope, at least, no solid hope, of any 
future intercourse or re-union with their friends. 
The farewell at the grave was a long, and an 
everlasting farewell. At the moment, when they 
breathed it, it brought to their hearts a startling 
sense of their own wretchedness. Yet, when the 
first tumults of anguish were passed, they visited 
the spot, and strewed flowers, and garlands, and 
crowns around it, to assuage their grief, and nour- 
ish their piety. ' They delighted to make it the 
abode of the varying beauties of Nature ; to give 
it attractions, which should invite the busy and 
the thoughtful ; and yet, at the same time, aflbrd 
ample scope for the secret indulgence of sorrow. 

Why should not Christians imitate such exam- 
ples ? They have far nobler motives to cultivate 
moral sentiments and sensibilities ; to make cheer- 
ful the pathways to the grave ; to combine with 
deep meditations on human mortality the sublime 
consolations of religion. We know, indeed, as 
they did of old, that " man goeth to his long 
home, and the mourners go about the streets." 
But that home is not an everlasting home ; and 
the mourners may not weep as those who are 
without hope. What is the grave to Us, but a 



154 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

thin barrier dividing Time from Eternity, and 
Earth from Heaven? What is it but "the ap- 
pointed place of rendezvous, where all the travel- 
lers on life's journey meet " for a single night of 
repose ? 

" 'Tis but a night — a long and moonless night, 
We make the Grave our Bed, and then are gone." 

Know we not 

*' The time draws on 

When not a single spot of burial earth, 
Whether on land, or in the spacious sea. 
But must give up its long committed dust 
Inviolate? " — 

Why then should we darken with systematic 
caution all the avenues to these repositories? 
Why should we deposit the remains of our friends 
in loathsome vaults, or beneath the gloomy crypts 
and cells of our churches, where the human foot 
is never heard, save when the sickly taper lights 
some new guest to his appointed apartment, and 
" lets fall a supernumerary horror " on the passing 
procession ? Why should we measure out a nar- 
row portion of earth for our graveyards in the 
midst of our cities, and heap the dead upon each 
other with a cold, calculating parsimony, disturb- 
ing their ashes, and wounding the sensibilities of 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 155 

the living ? Why sliould we expose our burying- 
grounds to the broad glare of day, to the unfeeling 
gaze of the idler, to the noisy press of business, to 
the discordant shouts of merriment, or to the 
baleful visitations of the dissolute ? Why should 
we bar up their approaches against real mourners, 
w^hose delicacy would shrink from observation, 
but whose tenderness would be soothed by secret 
visits to the grave, and holding converse there 
with their departed joys ? Why all this unnatural 
restraint upon our sympathies and sorrows, which 
confines the visit to the grave to the only time, 
in which it must be utterly useless — when the 
heart is bleeding with fresh anguish, and is too 
weak to feel, and too desolate to desire conso- 
lation ? 

It is painful to reflect, that the Cemeteries in 
our cities, crowded on all sides by the overhang- 
ing habitations of the living, are walled in only to 
preserve them from violation. And that in our 
country towns they are left in a sad, neglected 
state, exposed to every sort of intrusion, with 
scarcely a tree to shelter their barrenness, or a 
shrub to spread a grateful shade over the new- 
made hillock. 

These things were not always so among Chris- 



156 ADDRESSES, HEPORTS, ETC. 

tians. They are not worthy of us. They are not 
worthy of Christianity in our day- There is 
much in these things, that casts a just reproach 
upon us in the past. There is much that de- 
mands for the future a more spiritual discharge 
of our duties. 

Our Cemeteries rightly selected, and properly 
arranged, may be made subservient to some of 
the highest purposes of religion and human duty. 
They may preach lessons, to which none may 
refuse to listen, and which all, that live, must hear. 
Truths may be there felt and taught in the silence 
of our own meditations, more persuasive, and 
more enduring, than ever flowed from human 
lips. The grave hath a voice of eloquence, nay, 
of superhuman eloquence, which speaks at once to 
the thoughtlessness of the rash, and the devotion 
of the good ; which addresses all times, and all 
ages, and all sexes ; which tells of wisdom to the 
wise, and of comfort to the afflicted ; which warns 
us of our follies and our dangers ; which whispers 
to us in accents of peace, and alarms us in tones 
of terror ; which steals with a healing balnt into 
the stricken heart, and lifts up and supports the 
broken spirit ; which awakens a new enthusiasm 
for virtue, and disciplines us for its severer trials 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 157 

and duties ; which calls up the images of the illus- 
trious dead, with an animating presence for our 
example and glorj ; and which demands of us, as 
men, as patriots, as Christians, as immortals, that 
the powers given bj God should be devoted to his 
service, and the minds created bj his love, should 
return to him with larger capacities for virtuous 
enjoyment, and with more spiritual and intel- 
lectual brightness. 

It should not be for the poor purpose of grati- 
fying our vanity or pride, that we should erect 
columns, and obelisks, and monuments, to the 
dead ; but that we may read thereon much of our 
own destiny and duty. We know, that man is 
the creature of associations and excitements. Ex- 
perience may instruct, but habit, and appetite, and 
passion, and imagination, will exercise a strong 
dominion over him. These are the Fates, which 
w^eave the thread of his character, and unravel 
the mysteries of his conduct. The truth, which 
strikes home, must not only have the approbation 
of his reason, but it must be embodied in a visible, 
tangible, practical form. It must be felt, as well 
as seen. It must warm, as well as convince. 

It was a saying of Themistocles, that the tro- 
phies of Miltiades would not suffer him to sleep. 



158 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

The feeling, thus expressed, has a deep foundation 
in the human mind ; and, as it is well or ill di- 
rected, it will cover us with shame, or exalt us 
to glory. The deeds of the great attract but a 
cold and listless admiration, when they pass in 
historical order before us like moving shadows. 
It is the trophy and the monument, which invest 
them with a substance of local reality. Who, 
that has stood by the tomb of Washington on the 
quiet Potomac, has not felt his heart more pure, 
his wishes more aspiring, his gratitude more warm, 
and his love of country touched by a holier flame ? 
Who, that should see erected in shades, like 
these, even a cenotaph to the memory of a man, 
like Buckminster, that prodigy of early genius, 
would not feel, that there is an excellence over 
which death hath no power, but which lives on 
through all time, still freshening with the lapse 
of ages. 

But passing from those, who by their talents 
and virtues have shed lustre on the annals of man- 
kind, to cases of mere private bereavement, who, 
that should deposit in shades, like these, the 
remains of a beloved friend, would not feel a 
secret pleasure in the thought, that the simple 
inscription to his worth would receive the passing 



ADDRESSES, REPOKTS, ETC. 159 

tribute of a sigli from thousands of kindred hearts ? 
That the stransier and the traveller would lino-er 
on the spot with a feeling of reverence ? That 
they, the very mourners themselves, when they 
should revisit it, would find there the verdant sod, 
and the fragrant flower, and the breezy shade? 
That they might there, unseen, except of God, 
offer up their prayers, or indulge the luxury of 
grief? That they might there realize, in its full 
force, the affecting beatitude of the Scriptures : 
" Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be 
comforted?" 

Surely, surely, we have not done all our duty, 
if there yet remains a single incentive to human 
virtue, without its due play in the action of life, 
or a single stream of happiness, which has not been 
made to flow in upon the waters of affliction. 

Considerations, like those, which have been sug- 
gested, have for a long time turned the thoughts 
of many distinguished citizens to the importance of 
some more appropriate places of sepulture. There 
is a growing sense in the community of the in- 
conveniences, and painful associations, not to speak 
of the unhealthiness of interments, beneath our 
churches. The tide, which is flowing with such 
a steady and widening current into the narrow 



160 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

peninsula of our Metropolis, not only forbids tlie 
enlargement of the common limits, but admonishes 
us of the increasing dangers to the ashes of the 
dead from its disturbing movements. Already in 
other cities, the churchyards are closing against 
the admission of new incumbents, and begin to 
exhibit the sad spectacle of promiscuous ruins and 
intermingled graves. 

We are, therefore, but anticipating at the pres- 
ent moment, the desires, nay, the necessities of 
the next generation. We are but exercising a 
decent anxiety to secure an inviolable home for 
ourselves and our posterity. We are but inviting 
our children and their descendants, to what the 
Moravian Brothers have, with such exquisite pro- 
priety, designated as " the Field of Peace." 

A rural Cemetery seems to combine in itself 
all the advantages, which can be proposed to 
gratify human feelings, or tranquillize human 
fears ; to secure the best religious influences, and 
to cherish all those associations which cast a 
cheerful light over the darkness of the grave. 

And what spot can be more appropriate than 
this, for such a purpose ? Nature seems to point 
it out with significant energy, as the favorite re- 
tirement for the dead. There are around us all 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 161 

the varied features of lier beauty and grandeur — 
the forest-crowned height ; the abrupt accKvity ; 
the sheltered valley ; the deep glen ; the grassy 
glade ; and the silent grove. Here are the lofty 
oak, the beech, that " wreaths its old fantastic 
roots so high," the rustling pine, and the drooping 
willow ; — the tree, that sheds its pale leaves with 
every autumn, a fit emblem of our own transitory 
bloom ; and the evergreen, with its perennial 
shoots, instructing us, that " the wintry blast of 
death kills not the buds of virtue." Here is the 
thick shrubbery to protect and conceal the new- 
made grave ; and there is the wild-flower creepino- 
along the narrow path, and planting its seeds in 
the upturned earth. All around us there breathes 
a solemn calm, as if we were in the bosom of a 
wilderness, broken only by the breeze as it mur- 
murs through the tops of the forest, or by the notes 
of the warbler pouring forth his matin or his even- 
ino; sono;. 

Ascend but a few steps, and Avhat a change of 
scenery to surprise and delight us. We seem, as 
it were in an instant, to pass from the confines of 
death, to the bright and balmy regions of life. 
Below us flows the winding Charles with its rip- 
pling current, like the stream of time hastening 
11 



162 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

to the ocean of eternity. In the distance, the 
Citv, — at once the object of our admiration and 
our love, — rears its proud eminences, its glittering 
spires, its lofty towers, its graceful mansions, its 
curlinp; smoke, its crowded haunts of business and 
pleasure, which speak to the eye, and yet leave a 
noiseless loneliness on the ear. Again we turn, 
and the walls of our venerable University rise 
before us, with many a recollection of happy days 
passed there in the interchange of study and friend- 
ship, and many a grateful thought of the affluence 
of its learning, which has adorned and nourished 
the literature of our country. Again we turn, and 
the cultivated farm, the neat cottage, the village 
church, the sparkling lake, the rich valley, and 
the distant hills, are before us through opening 
vistas ; and we breathe amidst the fresh and varied 
labors of man. 

There is, therefore, within our reach, every 
variety of natural and artificial scenery, which is 
fitted to awaken emotions of the highest and most 
affecting character. We stand, as it were, upon 
the borders of two worlds ; and as the mood of our 
minds may be, we may gather lessons of profound 
wisdom by contrasting the one with the other, or 
mdulge in the dreams of hope and ambition, or 
solace our hearts by melancholy meditations. 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 163 

Who is tliere, that in the contemplation of such 
a scene, is not ready to exclaim with the enthusi- 
asm of the Poet, 

" Mine be the breezy hill, that skirts the down, 
Where a green, grassy turf is all I crave, 
With here and there a violet bestrowu. 

Fast by a brook, or fountain's murmuring wave, 

And many an evening's sun shine sweetly on my grave? " 

And we are met here to consecrate this spot, by 
these solemn ceremonies, to such a purpose. The 
Legislature of this Commonwealth, with a parental 
foresight, has clothed the Horticultural Society 
with authority (if I may use its own language) 
to make a perpetual dedication of it, as a Rural 
Cemetery or Burying-Ground, and to plant and 
embellish it with shrubbery, and flowers, and 
trees, and walks, and other rural ornaments. 
And I stand here by the order and in behalf of 
this Society, to declare that, by these services, it 
is to be deemed henceforth and forever so dedi- 
cated. Mount Auburn, in the noblest sense, 
belongs no longer to the living, but to the dead. 
It is a sacred, it is an eternal trust. It is con- 
secrated ground. May it remain forever invio- 
late ! 

What a multitude of thoughts crowd upon the 



164 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

mind in the contemplation of such a scene. How 
much of the future, even in its far distant reaches, 
rises before us with all its persuasive realities. 
Take but one little narrow space of time, and how 
affecting are its associations ! Within the flight 
of one half century, how many of the great, the 
good, and the wise, will be gathered here ! How 
many in the loveliness of infancy, the beauty of 
youth, the vigor of manhood, and the maturity of 
age, will lie down here, and dwell in the bosom 
of their mother earth ! The rich and the poor, 
the gay and the wretched, the favorites of thou- 
sands, and the forsaken of the world, the stranger 
in his solitary grave, and the patriarch surrounded 
by the kindred of a long lineage ! How many 
will here bury their brightest hopes, or blasted 
expectations ! How many bitter tears will here 
be shed ! How many agonizing sighs will here be 
heaved! How many trembling feet will cross the 
pathways, and returning, leave behind them the 
dearest objects of their reverence or their love ! 

And if this were all, sad indeed, and funereal 
would be our thouglits ; gloomy, indeed, would 
be these shades, and desolate these prospects. 

But — thanks be to God — the evils, which he 
permits, have their attendant mercies, and are 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 165 

blessings in disguise. The bruised reed will not 
be laid utterly prostrate. The wounded heart 
will not always bleed. The voice of consolation 
will spring up in the midst of the silence of these 
regions of death. The mourner Avill revisit these 
shades with a secret, though melancholy pleasure. 
The hand of friendship will delight to cherish the 
flowers, and the shrubs, that fringe the lowdy 
grave, or the sculptured monument. The earliest 
beams of the morning will play upon these sum- 
mits with a refreshing cheerfulness ; and the 
lingering tints of evening hover on them with a 
tranquillizing glow. Spring will invite thither 
the footsteps of the young by its opening foliage ; 
and Autumn detain the contemplative by its latest 
bloom. The votary of learning and science will 
here learn to elevate his genius by the holiest of 
studies. The devout will here offer up the silent 
tribute of pity, or the prayer of gratitude. The 
rivalries of the world will here drop from the 
heart"; the spirit of forgiveness will gather new 
impulses ; the selfishness of avarice will be 
checked ; the restlessness of ambition will be re- 
buked ; vanity will let fall its plumes ; and pride, 
as it sees " what shadows we are, and what shad- 
ows we -pursue," will acknowledge the value of 



166 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

virtue as far, immeasurably far, beyond that of 
fame. 

But that, which will be ever present, pervading 
these shades, like the noon-day sun, and shedding 
cheerfulness around, is the consciousness, the irre- 
pressible consciousness, amidst all these lessons of 
human mortality, of the higher truth, that we are 
beings, not of time but of eternity — " That this 
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this 
mortal must put on immortality." That this is 
but the threshold, and starting point of an exist- 
ence, compared with whose duration the ocean is 
but as a drop, nay, the whole creation an evanes- 
cent quantity. 

Let us banish, then, the thought, that this is to 
be the abode of a gloom, which will haunt the 
imagination by its terrors, or chill the heart by its 
solitude. Let us cultivate feelings and sentiments 
more worthy of ourselves, and more worthy of 
Christianity. Here let us erect the memorials of 
our love, and our gratitude, and our glory. Here 
let the brave repose, who have died in the cause 
of their country. Here let the statesman rest, 
who has achieved the victories of peace, not less 
renowned than war. Here let genius find a home, 
that has sung immortal strains, or has instructed 



■ ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 167 

with still diviner eloquence. Here let learning 
and science, the votaries of inventive art, and the 
teacher of the philosophy of nature come. Here 
let youth and beauty, blighted by premature decay, 
drop, like tender blossoms, into the virgin earth ; 
and here let age retire, ripened for the harvest. 
Above all, here let the benefactors of mankind, 
the good, the merciful, the meek, the pure in 
heart, be congregated ; for to them belongs an 
undying praise. And let us take comfort, nay, 
let us rejoice, that in future ages, long after we are 
gathered to the generations of other days, thou- 
sands of kindling hearts will here repeat the 
sublime declaration, " Blessed are the dead, that 
die in the Lord, for they rest from their labors ; 
and their works do follow them." 



168 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 



a report on the garden and cemetery. 
By H. a. S. Dearborn. 

At the Annual Meeting of the Horticultural Society, Septem- 
ber 30th, 1831, the Committee on laying out the grounds and 
forming the plan of tlie Experimental Garden and Cemetery at 
Mount Auburn, made the following 

REPORT, 

" That measures were promptly taken for accom- 
plishing those objects, and although considerable 
progress has been made, it will require further 
time to complete the work. 

Alexander Wadsworth, Esq., a skilful civil 
engineer, was employed to make an accurate 
topographical survey, and to locate the numerous 
avenues, which it was found necessary to establisli 
through the extensive and beautifully diversified 
grounds of the Cemetery and Garden, both for 
convenience and embellishment. The map has 
been so far perfected, that it is submitted for in- 
spection, and to exhibit the general outlines of 
the projected improvements ; but considerable 
labor is yet required in clearing out the principal 
carriage avenues and foot paths, before the sites 
of the public and private cemetery squares can 
be definitely established, and designated on the 
plan. 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 169 

Models and drawings of the Egyptian Gate- 
ways, and of a Gothic tower, and a Grecian 
tower, one of which is proposed to be erected on 
the highest hill, have been made, and are offered 
for examination. 

It has been ascertained, that the most lofty 
eminence is one hundred and twenty-five feet 
above Charles River, which gracefully sweeps 
round its gently sloping base ; and when crowned 
by the proposed tower, will become a most inter- 
esting place of resort, as conmanding an extensive 
panoramic view of that richly variegated region of 
magnificent scenery, embraced within the far dis- 
tant heights which encircle the metropolis, and 
the waves of the ocean ; while it will present a 
prominent and imposing feature in the landscape, 
of which it becomes the centre. 

At some future period, when the munificence 
of the citizens shall be commensurate with their 
debt of patriotic gratitude, this structure may per- 
haps give place for a stupendous monument to 
the most illustrious benefactor of his country ; — 
there will be reared the cenotaph of Washington, 
in massive blocks of granite or ever-during mar- 
ble. Should the funds hereafter justify it, a 
Doric Temple, to be used as a chapel, for the 



170 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

performance of funeral rites, and lodges for the 
gardener and superintendent of the Cemetery, are 
contemplated, and designs are in progress for 
each. 

As the season for rural lahor is far advanced, 
it is not considered expedient to commence the 
construction of the avenues before the next spring ; 
but they can be divested of the underwood, and 
the whole of the grounds so far cleared up, as to 
give them the appearance of a park, during the 
present autumn. It is expected that the lots may 
be assigned within twenty days, 

The Committee has been cheered, in the dis- 
charge of its duties, by the deep interest which 
has been manifested for the success of an under- 
taking, so important to the prosperitj^ of the Hor- 
ticultural Society, and so honorable to the country. 
Such is the exalted estimation in which it is held 
by the public, so universal is the approbation, so 
intense the interest, that beside the constant 
requests for permission to become subscribers, by 
the more affluent, numerous applications have 
been made for Cemetery lots, by farmers, me- 
chanics, and dealers in building materials, on 
condition, that they may be paid for in labor, or 
such articles as shall be required in the prosecution 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 171 

of the proposed Improvements. Within a few 
days offers have been made to a considerable 
amount ; and as it was the intention and is the 
anxious desire of the Society, that every citizen 
should have an opportunity of participating in the 
advantages of the establishment, the committee 
has availed itself of the services thus tendered, in 
executing much of the work which has been per- 
formed ; and there is not a doubt, that a very 
considerable portion of the expense in constructing 
roads, fences, gateways, and the various other 
edifices, may be defrayed, by a compensation in 
Cemetery lots. This will not only be a great 
accommodation to numerous individuals, who are 
desirous to become subscribers, but be highly 
advantageous to the Society. It is therefore 
recommended, that the Committee be authorized 
to prosecute such improvements as may be deemed 
necessary, on these reciprocally beneficial terms. 

With the view of fully meeting the expecta- 
tions and exio;encies of the communltv, it is 
considered advisable that sites for single graves 
should be designated, in various parts of the 
Cemeterv, embracing!: all the diversified localities, 
to afford an opportunity for individuals, who have 
no famihes, and the friends of such strangers as 



172 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

may be wept and honored far distant from their 
native land, to procure ehgible places of sepulture, 
on reasonable terms. 

As the tract which has been solemnly conse- 
crated, by religious ceremonies, as a burial place 
forever, is so abundantly covered with forest 
trees, many of which are more than sixty years 
old, it only requires the avenues to be formed, 
the borders, for some ten feet in width, planted 
with shrubs, bulbous and perennial flowers, the 
underwood cleared out, the fences, gateways, and 
appropriate edifices erected, to put the grounds in 
a sufficiently complete state for the uses designed, 
and to render them at once beautiful and inter- 
esting. All this can be done within two years, 
at a comparatively small expense, and a result 
produced which could not have been realized for 
forty years, if it had been necessary to commence 
the establishment by planting out forest trees. 
There are numerous majestic oaks, pines, beeches, 
and walnuts, which have braved the storms of a 
century. Towering aloft amidst the general 
verdure, and extending their huge branches far 
and wide, they appear as the venerable monarchs 
of the grove, but still exhibit the vigor of their 
luxuriant progeny, which, in umbrageous con- 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 173 

tiguity, cover each hill and plain, and sloping 
vale, and form many an 

" alley green, 



Dingle, or bushy dell, in this wild wood, 
And many a bosky bourn, from side to side." 

The Garden also can be very considerably 
advanced, within the same short period which 
will suffice for developing the improvements of 
the Cemetery. The nurseries may be established, 
the departments for culinary vegetables, fruit, and 
ornamental trees, shrubs and flowers, laid out and 
planted, a green-house built, hot-beds formed, the 
small ponds and morasses converted into pictu- 
resque sheets of water, and their margins diversified 
by clumps and belts of our most splendid native 
flowering trees and shrubs, requiring a soil thus 
constituted for their successful cultivation, while 
their surface may be spangled with the brilliant 
blossoms of the Nymphasa, and the other beautiful 
tribes of aquatic plants. The excavations for 
deepening and enlarging the ponds and morasses 
will afford inexhaustible sources of manure, of 
invaluable consequence to the Garden, as well as 
for those portions of the Cemetery which will be 
embellished by cultivated plants. 

From these favorable circumstances and the 



174 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

generous zeal whicli has been evinced for the 
energetic prosecution of the labors, which are 
required to perfect the details of the whole exten- 
sive plan, there no longer remains the least doubt, 
that in the summer of 1834, Mount Auburn will 
rival the most celebrated rural burial grounds of 
Europe, and present a garden in such a state of 
forwardness, as will be highly gratifying to the 
Society and the public. The work has been com- 
menced on an ever-during foundation, has the 
approbation and patronage of an enterprising, 
intelligent, and prosperous community, and can- 
not fail of progressing in a manner that must give 
universal satisfaction. There has Horticulture 
established her temple, — there will all denomina- 
tions of Christians surrender up their prejudices, 
— there will repose the ashes of the humble and 
exalted, in the silent and sacred Garden of the 
Dead, until summoned to those of eternal life, in 
realms beyond the skies. 

Respectfully submitted by 

H. A. S. Dearborn, 
For the Committee." 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 175 



a discourse on the burial of the dead. 
By Jacob Bigelow. 

While the subject of Mount Auburn was of recent agitation, 
the following Address was delivered at the hall of the Masonic 
Temple, in 1831, before the Boston Society for the Promotion of 
Useful Knowledge : — 

" The manner in wliicli we dispose of the re- 
mains of our deceased friends, is a subject whicti, 
TNathin the last few years, has occupied a greater 
share than formerly of the public attention in our 
own vicinity. It involves not only considerations 
which belong to the general convenience, but 
includes also the gratification of individual taste, 
and the consolation of private sorrow. Although, 
in a strictly philosophical view, this subject pos- 
sesses but little importance, except in relation to 
the convenience of survivors ; yet so closely are 
our sympathies enlisted Avith it, so inseparably do 
we connect the feelino-s of thedivino; with the con- 
dition of the dead, that it is in vain that we 
attempt to divest ourselves of its influence. It is 
incumben on us therefore to analyze, as far as 



176 ADDllESSES, KEPOllTS, ETC. 

we may be able, the principles which belong to 
a correct view of this subject ; since it is only by 
understanding these, that we may expect both 
reason and feeling to be satisfied. 

The progress of all organized beings is towards 
decay. The complicated textures which the liv- 
ing body elaborates within itself, begin to fall 
asunder almost as soon as life has ceased. The 
materials of which animals and vegetables are 
composed, have natural laws and irresistible affini- 
ties which are suspended during the period of life, 
but which must be obeyed the moment that life is 
extinct. These continue to operate, until the 
exquisite fabric is reduced to a condition, in no 
wise different from that of the soil on which it 
has once trodden. In certain cases art may 
modify, and accident may retard, the approaches 
of disorganization, but the exceptions thus pro- 
duced are too few and imperfect, to invalidate the 
certainty of the general law. 

If we take a comprehensive survey of the pro- 
gress and mutations of animal and vegetable life, 
we shall perceive that this necessity of individual 
destruction is the basis of general safety. The 
elements which have once moved and circulated 
in living frames do not become extinct nor useless 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 177 

after death : tliey offer themselves as the mate- 
rials from which other living frames are to 
constructed. What has once possessed life is most 
assimilated to the living character, and most ready 
to partake of life again. The plant which springs 
from the earth, after attaining its growth and per- 
petuating its species, falls to the ground, under- 
goes decomposition, and contributes its remains to 
the nourishment of plants around it. The myriads 
of animals which range the woods, or inhabit the 
air, at length die upon the surface of the earth, 
and, if not devoured by other animals, prepare for 
vegetation the place which receives their remains. 
Were it not for this law of nature, the soil would 
be soon exhausted, the earth's surface would 
become a barren waste, and the whole race of 
organized beings, for want of sustenance, would 
become extinct. 

Man alone, the master of the creation, does not 
willingly stoop to become a participator in the 
routine of nature. In every age he has mani- 
fested a disposition to exempt himself, and to 
rescue his fellow, from the common fate of living 
beings. Although he is prodigal of the lives of 
other classes, and sometimes sacrifices a hundred 
inferior bodies, to procure himself a single repast, 
12 



178 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

yet he regards with scrupulous anxiety the desti- 
nation of his own remains ; and much labor and 
treasure are devoted by him to ward off, for a 
season, t':e inevitable courses of nature. Under 
the apprehension of posthumous degradation, hu- 
man bodies have been embalmed, their concen- 
trated dust has been inclosed in golden urns, 
monumental fortresses have been piled over their 
decaying bones ; — with what success, and with 
what use, it may not be amiss to consider. 

I have selected a few instances, in wdiich meas- 
ures have been taken to protect the human frame 
from decay, which will be seen to have been in 
some cases partially successful, in others not so. 
They will serve as preliminaries to the general 
considerations which are connected with the sub- 
ject. 

One of the most interesting accounts of the 
preservation of a body, the identity of which was 
undoubted, is that of the disinterment of King 
Edward I. of Eno-land. The readers of Eno-lish 
History will recollect that this monarch gave, as 
a dying charge to his son, that his heart should 
be sent to the Holy Land, but that his body 
should be carried in the van of the army till Scot- 
land was reduced to obedience. 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 179 

He died in July, 1307, and notwithstanding liis 
injunctions, was buried in Westminster Abbey in 
October of the same year. It is recorded that 
he was embalmed, and orders for renewing the 
cere-cloth about his body were issued in the reigns 
of Edward III. and Henry IV. The tomb of 
this monarch was opened, and his body examined 
in January, 1771, under the direction of Sir 
Joseph Ayloflfe, after it had been buried four 
hundred and sixty-seven years. The folio win o- 
account is extracted from a contemporaneous vol- 
ume of the Gentleman's Magazine : — 

' Some gentlemen of the Society of Antiquaries, 
beino; desirous to see how far the actual state of 
Edward First's body answered to the methods 
taken to preserve it, obtained leave to open the 
large stone sarcophagus, in which it is known to 
have been deposited, on the north side of Edward 
the Confessor's chapel. This was accordingly 
done on the morning of January 2, 1774, when in 
a coffin of yellow stone, they found the royal 
body in perfect preservation, inclosed in two 
wrappers ; one of them was of gold tissue, strongly 
waxed, and fresh, the other and outermost con- 
siderably decayed. The corpse was habited in a 



180 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

rich mantle of purple, paned with white, and 
adorned with ornaments of gilt metal, studded 
with red and hlue stones and pearls. Two simi- 
lar ornaments lay on the hands. The mantle was 
fastened on the right shoulder by a magnificent 
fibula of the same metal, with the same stones and 
pearls. His face had over it a silken covering, 
so fine, and so closely fitted to it, as to preserve 
the features entire. Round his temples was a gilt 
coronet of fleurs de lys. In his hands, which 
were also entire, were two sceptres of gilt metal ; 
that in the right surmounted by a cross fleure, 
that in the left by three clusters of oak leaves, 
and ^ dove on a globe; this sceptre was about 
five feet long. The feet were enveloped in the 
mantle and other coverings, but sound, and the 
toes distinct. The whole length of the corpse 
was five feet two inches.' 

This last statement, it will be observed, is the 
only point in which the narrative appears to disa- 
gree with history. We are generally given to 
understand that Edward I. was a tall man ; and 
that he was designated in his own time by the 
name of Long-shanks. Baker, in his Chronicle 
of the Kings of England, says of him that he was 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 181 

tall of stature, exceeding most other men by a 
head and shoulders. I have not been able to find 
Sir Joseph AylofFe's account of the examination, 
and know of no other mode of reconciling the 
discrepancy, but by supposing a typographical 
error of a figure in the account which has been 
quoted. 

Edward I. died at Burgh-upon-Sands, in Cum- 
berland, on his way to Scotland, July 7, 1307, in 
the sixty-eighth year of his age. 

Another instance of partial preservation, is that 
of the body of King Charles I., who was be- 
headed by his subjects in 1649. The remains of 
this unfortunate monarch are known to have been 
carried to Windsor, and there interred by his 
friends without pomp, in a hasty and private man- 
ner. It is stated in Clarendon's History of the 
Rebellion, that when his son, Charles II., was 
desirous to remove and re-inter his corpse at 
Westminster Abbey, it could not by any search 
be found. In constructing a mausoleum at Wind- 
sor in 1813, under the direction of George IV., 
then Prince Regent, an accident led to the dis- 
covery of this royal body. The workmen, in 
forming a subterraneous passage under the choir 
of St. George's Chapel, accidentally made an 



182 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

aperture in the wall of the vault of King Henry 
VIII. On looking through this opening it was 
found to contain three coffins, instead of two, as 
had been supposed. Two of these were ascer- 
tained to be the coffins of Henry VIII., and one 
of his queens, Jane Seymour. The other wjis 
formally examined, after permission obtained, by 
Sir Henry Halford, in presence of several mem- 
bers of the royal family, and other persons of 
distinction. The account since published by Sir 
Henry, corroborates the one which had been given 
by Mr. Herbert, a groom of King Charles's bed- 
chamber, and is published in Wood's Athense 
Oxonienses. 

.' On removing the pall,' says the account, ' a 
plain leaden coffin presented itself to view, with 
no appearance of ever having been inclosed in 
wood, and bearing an inscription, "King Charles, 
1648," in large, legible characters, on a scroll of 
lead encircling it. A square opening was then 
made in the upper part of the lid, of such dimen- 
sions as to admit a clear insight into its contents. 
These were, an internal wooden coffin, very much 
decayed, and the body carefully wrapped up in 
cere-cloth, into the folds of which a quantity of 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 183 

unctuous matter, mixed with resin, as it seemed, 
liad been melted, so as to exclude, as effectually 
as possible, the external air. The coffin was com- 
pletely full, and, from the tenacity of the cere- 
cloth, great difficulty was experienced in detaching 
it successfully from the parts which it enveloped. 
Wherever the unctuous matter had insinuated 
itself, the separation of the cere-cloth was easy ; 
and where it came off, a correct impression of the 
features to which it had been applied, was ob- 
served. At leno;th the whole face was diseno-ao-ed 
from its covering. The complexion of the skin of 
it was dark and discolored. The forehead and 
temples had lost little or nothing of their muscu- 
lar substance ; the cartilage of the nose was gone ; 
but the left eye, in the first moment of exposure, 
was open and full, though it vanished almost im- 
mediately ; and the pointed beard, so character- 
istic of the period of the reign of King Charles, 
was perfect. The shape of the face was a long 
oval ; many of the teeth remained ; and the left 
ear, in consequence of the interposition of the 
unctuous matter between it and the cere-cloth, 
was found entire. 

' It was difficult, at this moment, to withhold a 
declaration, that, notwithstanding its disfigure- 



184 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

ment, the countenance did bear a strong resem- 
blance to the coins, the bnsts, and especially to the 
picture of King Charles the First, by Vandyke, 
by which it had been made familiar to us. It is 
true, that the minds of the spectators of this in- 
teresting sight were well prepared to receive this 
impression ; but it is also certain that such a 
facility of belief had been occasioned by the sim- 
plicity and truth of Mr. Herbert's Narrative, 
every part of which had been confirmed by the 
investigation, so far as it had advanced ; and it 
will not be denied that the shape of the face, the 
forehead, the eye, and the beard, are the most 
important features by which resemblance is de- 
termined. 

• When the head had been entirely disengaged 
fi'om the attachments which confined it, it was 
found to be loose, and without any difficulty was 
taken out and held up to view. The back part 
of the scalp was entirely perfect, and had a re- 
markably fresh appearance ; the pores of the skin 
beincc more distinct, and the tendons and lio-a- 
ments of the neck were of considerable substance 
and firmness. The hair was thick at the back 
part of the head, and in appearance nearly black. 
A portion of it, which has since been cleaned and 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 185 

dried, is of a beautiful dark brown color. That 
of the beard was a redder brown. On the back 
part of the head it was not more than an inch in 
length, and had probably been cut so short for 
the convenience of the executioner, or perhaps by 
the piety of friends soon after death, in order to 
furnish memorials of the unhappy king. 

' On hplding up the head, to examine the place 
of separation from the body, the muscles of the 
neck had evidently retracted themselves con- 
siderably ; and the fourth cervical vertebra was 
found to be cut through its substance transversely, 
leaving the surfaces of the divided portions per- 
fectly smooth and even, an appearance which 
could have been produced only by a heavy blow, 
inflicted with a very sharp instrument, and which 
furnished the last proof wanting to identify King 
Charles the First.' 

The foreojoino; are two of the most successful 
instances of posthumous preservation. The care 
taken in reo-ard to some other distino-uished 
personages has been less fortunate in its result. 
The coffin of Henry VIII. was inspected at the 
same time with tliat of Charles, and was found to 
contain nothino; but the mere skeleton of that 



186 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

king. Some portions of beard remained on the 
cliin, but there was nothing to discriminate the 
personage contained in it. 

Dmnng the present century, the sarcophagus of 
Kins John has also been examined. It contained 
little else than a disorganized mass of earth. The 
principal substances found, were some half decayed 
bones, a few vestiges of cloth and leather, and a 
long rusty piece of iron, apparently the remains 
of the sword-blade of that monarch. 

The rapidity with which decomposition takes 
place in organic bodies, depends upon the par- 
ticular circumstances under which they are placed. 
A certain temperature, and a certain degree of 
moisture, are indispensable agents in the common 
process of putrefaction, and could these be 
avoided in the habitable parts of our globe, hu- 
man bodies might last indefinitely. I shall be 
excused for dwelling a short time on the influence 
of some of these preservative agents. Where a 
certain degree of cold exists, it tends powerfully 
to check the process of destructive fermentation, 
and when it extends so far as to produce conge- 
lation, its protecting power is complete. Bodies 
of men and animals are found in situations where 
they have remained frozen for years, and even for 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 187 

ages. Not many years ago, tlie bodies of some 
Spanish soldiers were found in a state of perfect 
preservation among the snows of the Andes, 
Tvhere they were supposed to have perished in 
attempting to cross those mountains, nearly a 
century ago ; their costume and some historical 
records indicating the probable period of their 
expedition. At the Hospice of the Grand St. 
Bernard in the Alps, some receptacles of the dead 
are shown to travellers, in which, owing to the 
effect of perpetual frost, together wdth the light- 
ness of the atmosphere, but little absolute decay 
has taken place in the subjects deposited during 
a lapse of years. But the most remarkable in- 
stance of preservation by frost of an animal body, 
is that of an elephant of an extinct species, dis- 
covered in 1806 in the ice of the polar sea, near 
the mouth of the river Lena, by Mr. Michael 
Adams. This animal was first seen by a chief of 
the Tonguse tribe, in the year 1799, at which 
time it was imbedded in a rock of ice about one 
hundred and eighty feet high, and had only two 
feet, with a small part of the body, projecting from 
the side, so as to be visible. At the close of the 
next summer, the entire flank of the animal had 
been thawed out. It nevertheless required five 



188 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

summers, in this inclement region, to thaw the 
ice, so that the whole body could be liberated. 
At length, in 1804, the enormous mass separated 
from the mountain of ice, and fell over upon its 
side, on a sand bank. At this time it appears to 
have been in a state of perfect preservation, with 
its skin and flesh as entire as when it had existed 
antecedently to the Deluge, or to whatever con- 
vulsion of the globe may have transported animals, 
apparently of the torrid zone, to the confines of 
the Arctic circle. The Tonguse chief cut off the 
tusks, which were nine feet long, and weighed 
two hundred pounds each. Two years after this 
event, Mr. Adams, being at Yakutsk, and hearing 
of this event, undertook a journey to the spot. 
He found the animal in the same place, but ex- 
ceedingly mutilated by the dogs and wolves of 
the neighborhood, which had fed upon its flesh as 
fast as it thawed. He, however, succeeded in 
removing the whole skeleton, and in recovering 
two of the feet, one of the ears, one of the eyes, 
and about three quarters of the skin, which was 
covered with reddish hair and black bristles. 
These are now in the museum at St. Petersburg, 
The foregoing facts are sufficient to show that 
a low degree of temperature is an effectual pre- 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 189 

ventive of animal decomposition. On the other 
hand, a certain degree of heat combined with a 
dry atmosphere, although a less perfect protection, 
is sufficient to check the destructive process. 
Warmth, combined with moisture, tends greatly 
to promote decomposition ; yet if the degree of 
heat, or the circumstances under which it acts, 
are such as to produce a perfect dissipation of 
moisture, the further progress of decay is arrested. 
In the arid caverns of Egypt the dried flesh of 
mummies, although greatly changed from its 
original appearance, has made no progress tow- 
ards ultimate decomposition, during two or three 
thousand years. It is known that the ancient 
Egyptians embalmed the dead bodies of their 
friends, by extracting the large viscera from the 
cavities of the head, chest, and abdomen, and fill- 
ing them with aromatic and resinous substances, 
particularly asphaltum, and enveloping the out- 
side of the body in cloths impregnated with 
similar materials. These impregnations pre- 
vented decomposition for a time, until perfect 
dryness had taken place. Their subsequent 
preservation, through so many centuries, appears 
to have been owing, not so much to the anti- 
septic quality of the substance _ in w^hich they are 



190 ADDUESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

enveloped, as to tlie effectual exclusion of moist- 
ure. 

In the crypt under the cathedral of Milan, 
travellers are shown the ghastly relics of Carlo 
Borromeo, as they have lain for two centuries, 
inclosed in a crystal sarcophagus, and bedecked 
with costly finery, of silk and gold. The preser- 
vation of this body is equal to that of an Egyptian 
mummy, yet a more loathsome piece of mockery 
than it exhibits can be hardly imagined. 

It will be perceived that the instances which 
have been detailed are cases of extraordinary 
exemption, resulting from uncommon care, or 
from the most favorable combination of circum- 
stances, such as can befall but an exceedingly 
small portion of the human race. The common 
fate of animal bodies is to undergo the entire 
destruction of their fabric, and the obliteration of 
their living features in a few years, and sometimes 
even weeks, after their death. No sooner does 
life cease, than the elements which constituted 
the vital body become subject to the common 
laws of inert matter. The original affinities, 
which had been modified or suspended during 
life, are brought into operation, the elementary 
atoms react upon each other, the organized struc^ 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 191 

ture passes into decay, and is converted to its 
original dust. Such is the natural, and, I may 
add, the proper destination of the material part 
of all that has once moved and breathed. 

The reflections which naturally .suggest them- 
selves in contemplating the wrecks of humanity, 
which have occasionally been brought to light, 
are such as lead us to ask, of what possible use is 
a resistance to the laws of nature, which, when 
most successfully executed, can at best only pre- 
serve a defaced and de^-radino: imao;e of what was 
once perfect and beautiful ? Could we, by any 
means, arrest the progress of decay, so as to 
gather round us the dead of a hundred genera- 
tions in a visible and tangible shape ; could we 
fill our houses and our streets with mummies, — 
what possible acquisition could be more useless, 
wdiat custom could be more revoltino; ? — For 
precisely the same reason the subterranean vaults 
and the walls of brick, which we construct to 
divide the clay of humanity from that of the rest 
of creation, and to preserve it separate for a time, 
as it were for future inspection, are neither useful, 
gratifying, nor ultimately efl'ectual. Could the 
individuals themselves, who are to be the subjects 
of this care, have the power to regulate the offi- 



192 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

cious zeal of their survivors, one of the last things 
they could reasonably desire would be, that the 
light should ever shine on their changed and 
crumbling relics. 

On the other hand, when nature is permitted 
to take its course, when the dead are committed 
to the earth under the open sky, to become early 
and peacefully blended with their original dust, 
no unpleasant association remains. It would seem 
as if the forbidding and repulsive conditions which 
attend on decay, were merged and lost in the 
surrounding harmonies of the creation. 

When the body of Major Andre was taken up, 
a few years since, from^'the place of its interment 
near the Hudson, for the purpose of being removed 
to England, it was found that the skull of that 
officer was closely encircled by a net-work, formed 
by the roots of a small tree, which had been 
planted near his head. This is a natural and 
most beautiful coincidence. It would seem as if a 
faithful sentinel had taken his post, to watch, till 
the obliterated ashes should no longer need a 
friend. Could we associate with inanimate clay 
any of the feelings of sentient beings, who would 
not wish to rescue his remains from the prisons 
of mankind, and commit them thus to the embrace 
of nature ? 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 193 

Convenience, health, and decency require that 
the dead should be early removed from our sight. 
The law of nature requires that they should 
moulder into dust, and the sooner this change is 
accomplished, the better. This change should 
take place, not in the immediate contiguity of 
survivors, not in frequented receptacles provided 
for the promiscuous concentration of numbers, 
not where the intruding light may annually usher 
in a new tenant, to encroach upon the old. It 
should take place peacefully, silently, separately, 
in the retired valley, or the sequestered wood, 
where the soil continues its primitive exuberance, 
and where the earth has not become too costly to 
afford to each occupant at least his length and 
breadth. 

Within the bounds of populous and growing 
cities, interments cannot with propriety take place 
beyond a limited extent. The vacant tracts re- 
served for burial grounds, and the cellars of 
churches which are converted into tombs, become 
glutted with inhabitants, and are in the end 
obliged to be abandoned, though not perhaps until 
the original tenants have been ejected, and the 
same space has been occupied three or four suc- 
cessive times. Necessity obliges a recourse at last 
13 



194 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

to be liad to the neigliboring country, and hence 
in Paris, London, Liverpool, Leghorn, and other 
European cities, cemeteries have been constructed 
without the confines of their population. These 
places, in consequence of the sufficiency of the 
ground, and the funds which usually grow out of 
such establishments, have been made the recipi- 
ents of tasteful ornament. Travellers are at- 
tracted by their beauty, and dwell with interest 
on their subsequent recollection. The scenes 
which, under most other circumstances, are 
repulsive and disgusting, are by the joint influ- 
ence of nature and art rendered beautiful, attrac- 
tive, and consoling. 

The situation of Mount Auburn, near Boston, 
is one of great natural fitness for the objects to 
which it has been devoted. Independently of its 
suj)erior size, it may be doubted whether any spot, 
which has been set apart for the same purposes 
in Europe, possesses half the interest in its origi- 
nal features. In a few years, when the hand of 
taste shall have scattered among the trees, as it 
has already begun to do, enduring memorials of 
marble and granite, a landscape of the most pic- 
turesque character will be created. No place in 
the environs of our city will possess stronger 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 195 

attractions to tlie visitor. To the mourner it 
offers seclusion, amid the consoHng influences of 
nature. The morahst and man of religion will 

o 
* Find room 
And food for meditation, nor pass by 
Much, that may give him pause, if pondered fittingly.' 

We regard the relics of our deceased friends 
and kindred for what they have been, and not 
for what they are. We cannot keep in our pres- 
ence the degraded imao-e of the orio-inal frame : 
and if some memorial is necessary to soothe the 
unsatisfied want, which we feel when bereaved 
of their presence, it must be found in contemplat- 
ing the place in which we know that their dust is 
hidden. The history of mankind, in all ages, 
shows that the human heart clings to the grave 
of its disappointed wishes, that it seeks consolation 
in rearing emblems and monuments, and in col- 
lecting images of beauty over the disappearing 
relics of humanity. This can be fitly done, not 
in the tumultuous and harassing din of cities, not 
in the gloomy and almost unapproachable vaults 
of charnel houses ; — but amidst the quiet verdure 
of the field, under the broad and cheerful light of 
heaven, — where the harmonious and ever chang- 
ing face of nature reminds us, by its resuscitating 
influences, that to die is but to live again." 



196 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

REPORT 

Of tlie Garden and Cemetery Committee of the Massachusetts 
Horticultural Society, at a meeting held on Saturday, Sep- 
tember 17, 1834. 

The Garden and Cemetery Committee of the 
Massachusetts Horticultural Society, beg leave 
to submit the following Annual Report, for the 
consideration of the Society : — 

" The Committee congratulate the Society upon 
the continued improvement of the Garden, and 
Cemetery, and the additional favor and encour- 
agement, which the design has received from the 
public. Before proceeding, however, to any par- 
ticulars respecting this subject, they feel it their 
duty to make a few remarks, in order to correct 
some erroneous notions, which pervade certain 
port-ions of the community, relative to the nature 
and objects of the establishment. It is by no 
means uncommon to find persons impressed with 
the belief, that the establishment is a private specu- 
lation for the private benefit of the members of 
the Society, or of the individuals, who originally 
advanced the money to purchase the grounds for 
the Garden and Cemetery, and that considerable 
profits have been already realized from it. This 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 197 

notion is utterly unfounded. The Cemetery is, 
in tlie truest and noblest sense, a public institu- 
tion, that is, an institution of which the whole 
community may obtain the benefit upon easy and 
equal terms. No individual has any private in- 
terest in the establishment beyond what he 
acquires as the proprietor of a lot in the Ceme- 
tery; and every man in the community may 
become a proprietor upon paying the usual sum 
fixed for the purchase of a lot. The whole 
grounds are held by the Horticultural Society in 
trust for the purposes of a Garden and Cemetery ; 
and no member thereof as such has any private 
interest therein, except as a corporator, or pro- 
prietor of a lot. The A^diole funds which have 
been already realized by the sale of lots have been 
devoted to paying the price of the original pur- 
chase, laying out the grounds, enclosing them 
with a fence, erecting an entrance gate and por- 
tal, and a cottage, and other structures for the 
accommodation of the superintendent, and defray- 
ing the incidental expenses. The expenditures 
have already amounted, asgappears by the Treas- 
urer's Report, to upwards of twenty-five thousand 
dollars ; and the proceeds of the sales have fallen 
short of this amount by about two thousand dol- 



198 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

lars ; so that as yet tlie expenditures have ex- 
ceeded the income. It has always been the 
understanding of the Society, that all the funds, 
which should be obtained by the sales of the lots, 
should, after defraying the annual expenses of the 
establishment, be applied exclusively to the pre- 
servation, repair, ornament, and permanent im- 
provement of the Garden and Cemetery ; and 
never to the private emolument of any of the 
members — and, indeed, this constituted the fun- 
damental object of those, who have become the 
proprietors of lots. It is due also to the gentle- 
men, whose public spirit matured the design, to 
state, that it was their primary object to exclude 
all private speculation and interests from the 
undertaking ; andj by a wise and fixed policy, to 
secure all the funds, which should arise from its 
success, to public purposes of an enduring and 
permanent character. The Society has sanctioned 
these views. It was believed that a generous 
community would foster the design ; and, by a 
timely liberality, in the purchase of lots, would 
enable the Society to make this beautiful Retreat 
for the Dead at the same time the consolation and 
just pride of the Living. The Committee have 
great pleasure in stating that these reasonable 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 199 

expectations have not been disappointed. Mount 
Auburn has ah'eady become a place of general 
resort and interest, as well to strangers as to citi- 
zens ; and its shades and paths, ornamented with 
monumental structures, of various beauty and 
elegance, have already given solace and tran- 
quillizing reflections to many an afflicted heart, 
and aAvakened a deep moral sensibility in many 
a pious bosom. The Committee look forward, 
with increasing confidence, to a steady public 
patronage, which shall supply all the means 
necessary for the accomplishment of all the in- 
teresting objects of the establishment. 

Relying on this patronage, the Committee in- 
dulge the hope that the period is not far distant, 
when, by the sale of lots, the Society will be 
enabled to enclose all the grounds with a perma- 
nent wall ; to erect a Temple of simple and 
classical character, in which the service over the 
dead may be performed by clergymen of every 
denomination ; to add extensively to the beauty 
and productiveness of the Garden ; and, above all, 
to lay the foundation of an accumulating fund, 
the income of which shall be perpetually devoted 
to the preservation, embellishment, and improve- 
ment of the grounds. This last object the Com- 



200 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

mittee deem of the highest importance to the 
perpetuity of the establishment ; and it cannot be 
contemplated with too much care and earnestness 
in all the future arrangements of the Society. 
In addition to these objects, the Committee would 
suggest the propriety of making arrangements 
for the admission of water from Fresh Pond into 
the ponds of the Cemetery ; and, after passing 
through them, of conducting it into Charles River. 
Such a measure would add to the salubrity of the 
ponds, as well as improve the general aspect and 
effect of the whole scenery. It is believed that 
this measure may be accomplished at a compara- 
tively small expense, whenever the funds of the 
Society will admit of a suitable appropriation. 
In the meantime it seems desirable to secure, by 
some preliminary arrangement, the ultimate suc- 
cess of the project. 

The Committee would further state, that by 
the Report of the Treasurer it appears, that the 
whole number of lots in the Cemetery, which 
have been already sold, is 351, viz : — 175 lots 
in 1832, 76 lots in 1833, and 100 lots in 1831 ; 
and the aggregate sum produced by these sales is 
$23,225.72. The whole expenditures incurred 
during the same years amount to $25,211.88. 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 201 

The balance of cash and other available funds 
now in the hands of th^ Treasurer are $5403.32. 
The Committee are of opinion, that reliance may 
safely be placed upon the future sales of lots to 
defray the expenses of the current year ; and that, 
therefore, a portion of the funds now on hand 
may be properly applied to the reduction of the 
remaining debts due by the Society. 

The Committee would further state, that since 
the month of August, 1833, there have been nine- 
ty-three interments at Mount Auburn ; eighteen 
tombs have been built ; sixteen monuments have 
been erected ; and sixty-eight lots have been turfed 
and otherwise ornamented. It is understood that 
other monuments are in progress, and will be 
erected in a short time. 

The Committee would further state, that find- 
ing the grounds at Mount Auburn were visited 
by unusual concourses of people on Sundays, and 
that the injuries done to the grounds and shrub- 
bery were far greater on those occasions than 
any other, circumstances which it is unnecessary 
to mention, they deemed it their duty, as well in 
reverence for the day, as in reference to the per- 
manent interests of the establishment, and a 
regard to the feelings of the community, to make 



202 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 

a regulation j)roliibiting any persons except pro- 
prietors and their families, and the persons ac- 
companying them, from entering the grounds 
on Sundays. The effects of this regulation have 
been highly beneficial. It has not only given 
quiet to the neighborhood, and enabled pro- 
prietors and their families to visit their lots on 
Sundays under circumstances of more seclusion, 
tranquillity, and solemn religious feelings ; but it 
has put a stop to many of the depredations, which 
thoughtless and mischievous persons had been too 
apt to indulge in, in their recreations on that 
day. Several other regulations have been made, 
which experience had shown to be indispensable 
to the due security and uses of the Cemetery. 
The most important among these is the closing 
the gates at sunset and opening them at sunrise. 
And it may be observed of all these regulations, 
that while they allow a free access to the grounds 
to all visitors at reasonable times, and in a rea- 
sonable manner, they are calculated to prevent 
any desecration of them under false pretexts, or 
by secret misconduct. 

The Committee would further state, that in 
pursuance of the vote of the Society, at their last 
annual meeting, they made an application to the 



ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 203 

Legislature of the Commonwealth, at its last ses- 
sion, for additional provisions to aid the general 
objects of the Society. The Legislature accord- 
ingly passed an act, entitled ' An act in further 
addition to an act to incorporate the Massachu- 
setts Horticultural Society,' which is entirely 
satisfactory to the Committee. They therefore 
beg leave to recommend, that the Society should, 
by a formal vote, accept the same. 

All of which is respectfully submitted. 

Joseph Story, Chairman. 

Sept. 20, 1834." 



204 ADDRESSES, REPORTS, ETC. 



HYMN SUNG AT THE CONSECRATION. 

Written by the Rev. John Pierpont. 

To thee, God, in humble trust, 

Our hearts their cheerful incense burn, 

For this thy word, " Thou art of dust, 
And unto dust shalt thou return." 

For, what were life, life's work all done. 
The hopes, joys, loves, that cling to clay, 

All, all, departed, one by one. 

And yet life's load borne on for aye ! 

Decay ! Decay ! 'tis stamped on all ! 

All bloom, in flower and flesh, shall fade ; 
Ye whispering trees, when we shall fall, 

Be our long sleep beneath your shade ! 

Ilere to thy bosom, mother Earth, 

Take back, in peace, what thou hast given ; 

And all that is of heavenly birth, 
God in peace, recall to heaven ! 



CommontDeaIti) of Massachusetts. 



AN ACT 

TO INCORPORATE THE PROPRIETORS OF THE 

CEMETERY AT MOUNT AUBURN. 

1835. 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and 
House of Representatives, in General Court as- 
sembled, and by the authority of the same. That 
Joseph Story, John Davis, Jacob Bigelow, Isaac 
Parker, George Bond, and Charles P. Curtis, 
together with such other persons as are proprie- 
tors of lots in the Cemetery at Mount Auburn, in 
the towns of Cambridge and Watertown, in the 
County of Middlesex, and who shall in writing 
signify their assent to this Act, their successors 
and assigns, be and they hereby are created a 
Corporation, by the name of the Proprietors of 
the Cemetery of Mount Auburn, and they shall 



206 ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 

have all tlie powers and privileges contained in 
the statute of the year one thousand eight hun- 
dred and thirty-three, chapter eighty-three. 

Section 2. Be it further enacted, That the 
said Corporation may take and hold in fee simple 
the Garden and Cemetery at Mount Auburn, 
now Jield^j the Massachusetts Horticultural So- 
ciety, and any other lands adjacent thereto, not 
exceeding fifty acres in addition to said Garden and 
Cemetery, upon the same trusts and for the same 
purposes, and with the same powers and privileges 
as the said Massachusetts Horticultural Society 
now hold the same by virtue of the statute of the 
year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, 
chapter sixty-nine ; and may also take and hold 
any personal estate not exceeding in value fifty 
thousand dollars, to be applied to purposes con- 
nected with and appropriate to the objects of said 
establishment. 

Section 3. Be it further enacted. That all per- 
sons who shall hereafter become proprietors of 
lots in said Cemetery, of a size not less, each, 
than three hundred square feet, shall thereby 
become members of the said Corporation. 

Section 4. Be it further enacted. That the 
officers of the said Corporation shall consist of 



ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 207 

not less than seven nor more than twelve Trus- 
tees, a Treasurer, Secretary, and such other offi- 
cers as they may chrect. The Trustees shall be 
elected annually, at the annual meeting, and shall 
hold their offices until others are chosen. And 
they shall choose one of their number to be Presi- 
dent, who shall be also President of the Corpo- 
ration ; and they shall also choose the Secretary 
and Treasurer, either from their own body or at 
large. And the said Trustees shall have the 
general management, superintendence, and care 
of the property, expenditures, business, and pru- 
dential concerns of the Corporation, and of the 
sales of lots in the said Cemetery, and they shall 
make a report of their doings to the Corporation 
at their annual meeting. The Treasurer shall 
give bonds for the faithful discharo;e of the duties 
of his office, and shall have the superintendence 
and management of the fiscal concerns of the 
Corj)oration, subject to the revision and control 
of the Trustees, to whom he shall make an an- 
nual report, which shall be laid before the Cor- 
poration at their annual meeting. And th 
Secretary shall be under oath for the faithful 
performance of the duties of his office, and shall 
record the doings at all meetings of the Corpora- 
tion and of the Trustees. 



208 ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 

Section 5. Be it furtlier enacted, That the 
annual meetmgs of said Corporation shall be 
holden at such time and place as the by-laws 
shall direct, and the Secretary shall give notice 
thereof in one or more newspapers, printed in 
Boston, seven days at least before the time of 
meeting. And special meetings may be called 
by the Trustees in the same manner, unless 
otherwise directed by the by-laws ; or by the 
Secretary, in the same manner, upon the written 
request of twenty members of the Corporation. 
At all meetings, a quorum for business shall con- 
sist of not less than seven members ; and any 
business may be transacted, of which notice shall 
be given in the advertisements for the meeting, 
and all questions shall be decided by a majority of 
the members present, and voting either in person 
or by proxy. 

Section 6. Be it further enacted, That as soon 
as the said Corporation shall have received from 
the Massachusetts Horticultural Society a legal 
conveyance of the said Garden and Cemetery at 
Mount Auburn, the Massachusetts Horticultural 
Society shall cease to have any rights, powers, 
and authorities over the same ; and all the rights, 
powers, and authorities, trusts, immunities, and 



ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 209 

privileges conferred upon the said Society, and 
upon the proprietors of lots in the said Cemetery 
in and by virtue of the first section of the statute 
of the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty- 
one, chapter sixty-nine, shall be transferred to and 
exercised by the Corporation created by this Act ; 
and the same shall, to all intents and purposes, 
apply to the said Corporation, and all proprietors 
of lots in the said Cemetery, with the same force 
and effect as if the same were herein specially 
enacted, and the said Corporation substituted for 
the Massachusetts Horticultural Society hereby. 

Section 7. Be it further enacted. That any 
person who shall wilfully destroy, mutilate, de- 
face, injure, or remove any tomb, monument, 
gravestone, or other structure placed in the 
Cemetery aforesaid, or any fence, railing, or 
other work for the protection or ornament of any 
tomb, monument, gravestone, or other structure 
aforesaid, or of any Cemetery lot, within the limits 
of the Garden and Cemetery aforesaid, or shall 
wilfully destroy, remove, cut, break, or injure any 
tree, shrub, or plant within the limits of the . said 
Garden and Cemetery, or shall shoot or discharge 
any gun or other firearm within the said limits, 
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and 
14 



210 ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 

shall, upon conviction thereof before any Justice 
of the Peace, or other court of competent juris- 
diction within the county of Middlesex, be 
punished by a fine not less than Five Dollars nor 
more than Fifty Dollars, according to the nature 
and aggravation of the offence ; and such offender 
shall also be liable, in an action of trespass, to be 
brought against him in any court of competent 
jurisdiction, in the name of the Proprietors of the 
Cemetery of Mount Auburn, to pay all such 
damages as shall have been occasioned by his un- 
lawful act or acts ; which money, when recov- 
ered, shall be applied by the said Corporation, 
under the direction of the Board of Trustees, to 
the reparation and restoration of the property 
destroyed or injured as above, and members of 
the said Corporation shall be competent witnesses 
in such suits. 

Section 8*. Be it further enacted. That the 
lots in said Cemetery shall be indivisible ; and 
upon the death of any proprietor of any lot in the 
said Cemetery containing not less than three hun- 
dred square feet, the devisee of such lot, or the 
heir at law, as the case may be, shall be entitled 
to all the privileges of membership as aforesaid ; 
and if there be more than one devisee or heir at 



ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 211 

law of each lot, the board of Trustees for the time 
being shall designate which of the said devisees or 
heirs at law shall represent the said lot, and vote 
in the meetings of the Corporation ; — which 
designation shall continue in force, until by death, 
removal, or other efficient cause, another designa- 
tion shall become necessary ; and, in making such 
designation the Trustees shall, as far as they con- 
veniently may, give the preference to males over 
females, and to proximity of blood and priority 
of age, having due regard, however, to proximity 
of residence. 

Section 9. Be it further enacted, That it shall 
be lawful for the said Corporation to take and hold 
any grant, donation or bequest of property, upon 
trust, to apply the income thereof, under the direc- 
tion of the board of Trustees, for the improvement 
or embellishment of the said Cemetery or of the 
Garden adjacent thereto, or of any buildings, 
structures, or fences erected or being erected upon 
the lands of the said Corporation, or of any indi- 
vidual proprietor of a lot in the Cemetery, or for 
the repair, preservation, or renewal of any tomb, 
monument, gravestone, fence, or railing, or other 
erection in or around any Cemetery lot, or for 
the planting and cultivation of trees, shrubs* 



212 ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 

flowers, or plants, in or around any Cemetery lot, 
according to the terms of such grant, donation, 
or bequest ; and the Supreme Judicial Court in 
this Commonwealth, or any other court therein 
having equity jurisdiction, shall have full power 
and jurisdiction to compel the due performance of 
the said trusts, or any of them, upon a bill filed 
by a proprietor of any lot in the said Cemetery 
for that purpose. 

Section 10. Be it further enacted as fol- 
lows : — First, That the present proprietors of 
lots in the said Cemetery, who shall become mem_ 
bers of the Corporation created by this Act, shall 
henceforth cease to be members of the said Horti- 
cultural Society, so far as their membership therein 
depends on their being proprietors of lots in the 
said Cemetery. Secondly, That the sales of the 
Cemetery lots shall continue to be made as fast as 
it is practicable by the Corporation created by this 
Act, at a price not less than the sum of sixty 
dollars for every lot containing three hundred 
square feet, and so in proportion for any greater 
or less quantity, unless the said Horticultural So- 
ciety and the Corporation created by this Act, 
shall mutually agree to sell the same at a less 
price. Thirdly, That the proceeds of the first 



ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 213 

sales of such lots, after deducting the annual ex- 
penses of the Cemetery establishment, shall be 
applied to the extinguishment of the present debts 
due by the said Horticultural Society on account 
of the said Garden and Cemetery. And after 
the extinguishment of the said debts, the balance 
of the said proceeds, and proceeds of all future 
sales, shall annually, on the first Monday of every 
year, be divided between the said Horticultural 
Society and the Corporation created by this Act, 
in manner following, namely : — Fourteen hun- 
dred dollars shall be first deducted from the gross 
proceeds of the sales of lots during the preceding 
year, for the purpose of defraying the Superin- 
tendent's salary and other incidental expenses of 
the Cemetery establishment; and the residue of 
the said gross proceeds shall be divided between 
the said Horticultural Society and the Corporation 
created by this Act, as follows, namely : — One 
fourth part thereof shall be received by and paid 
over to the said Horticultural Society, on the first 
Monday of January of every year, and the re- 
maining three fourth parts shall be detained and 
held by the Corporation created by this Act, to 
their owm use forever. And if the sales of any 
year shall be less than fourteen hundred dollars, 



214 ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 

then the deficiency shall be a charge on the sales 
of the succeeding year or years. Fourthly, The 
money so received by the said Horticultural So- 
ciety shall be forever devoted and applied by the 
said Society to the purposes of an experimental 
garden, and to promote the art and science of 
Horticulture, and for no other purpose. And the 
money so retained by the Corporation created by 
this Act, shall be forever devoted snd applied to 
the preservation, improvement, embellishment, 
and enlargement of the said Cemetery and Gar- 
den, and the incidental expenses thereof, and for 
no other purpose whatsoever. Fifthly, A Com- 
mittee of the said Horticultural Society, duly 
appointed for this purpose, shall, on the first 
Monday of January of every year, have a right 
to inspect and examine the books and accounts of 
the Treasurer, or other officer acting as Treasurer 
of the Corporation created by this Act, as far as 
may be necessary to ascertain the sales of lots of 
the preceding year. 

Section 11. Be it further enacted. That any 
three or more of the persons named in this Act 
shall have authority to call the first meeting of the 
said Corporation, by an advertisement in one or 
more newspapers, printed in the City of Boston, 



ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 215 

seven days, at least, before the time of holding 
such meeting, and specifying the time and place 
thereof. And all proprietors of lots, who shall 
before, at, or during the time of holding such 
meeting, by writing, assent to this Act, shall be 
entitled to vote in person or by proxy at the said 
first meeting. And at any such meeting or any 
such adjournment thereof, any elections may be 
had, and any business done, which are herein 
authorized to be had and done at an annual meet- 
ing, although the same may not be specified in 
the notice for the said meeting. And the first 
Board of Trustees, chosen at the said meeting, 
shall continue in office until the annual meeting of 
the said Corporation next ensuing their choice, 
and until another Board are chosen in their stead, 
in pursuance of this Act. 

Section 12. Be it further enacted, That the 
said Cemetery shall be and hereby is declared 
exempted from all public taxes, so long as the 
same shall remain dedicated to the purposes of a 
Cemetery. 



216 ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 

AN ACT IN ADDITION TO "AN ACT TO INCORPO- 
RATE THE PROPRIETORS OF THE CEMETERY 
OF MOUNT AUBURN." 

1850. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of 
Representatives in General Court assembled, and 
by the authority of the same, as follows : 

The Corporation known as the Proprietors of 
the Cemetery of Mount Auburn, may purchase 
and hold in fee simple, or otherwise, any real 
estate or any interest in any real estate situate 
and lying in the towns of Cambridge and Water- 
town, in the County of Middlesex, anything in 
the act of this Legislature passed March thirty- 
first, A. D., eighteen hundred and thirty-five, 
entitled " An Act to incorporate the Proprietors 
of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn " — to the 
contrary notwithstanding ; Provided always^ that 
such real estate by the said Corporation so pur- 
chased, holden^and possessed, as aforesaid, under 
the provisions of this Act, shall not, at any one 
time, exceed one hundred acres in extent, in ad- 
dition to whatever the said Corporation now holds, 
or is entitled to hold, by virtue of the Act to 
which this Act is in addition as aforesaid. 



ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 217 

AN ACT IX ADDITION TO AN ACT ENTITLED "AN 
ACT TO INCORPORATE TFIE MASSACHUSETTS 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY." 

1831. 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and 
House of Representatives, in General Court as- 
sembled, and by the authority of the same, That 
the Massachusetts Horticultural Society be and 
hereby are authorized, in addition to the powers 
already conferred on them, to dedicate and appro- 
priate any part of the real estate now owned or 
hereafter to be purchased by them, as and for a 
Rural Cemetery or Burying Ground, and for the 
erection of Tombs, Cenotaphs, or other Monu- 
ments, for or in memory of the dead : and for this 
purpose to lay out the same in suitable lots or 
other subdivisions, for family and other burying 
places ; and to plant and embellish the same with 
shrubbery, flowers, trees, walks, and other rural 
ornaments, and to enclose and divide the same 
with proper walls and enclosures, and to make 
and annex thereto other suitable appendages and 
conveniences, as the Society shall from time to 
time deem expedient. And whenever the said 



218 ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 

Society shall so lay out and appropriate any of 
their real estate for a Cemetery or Burying 
Ground, as aforesaid, the same shall be deemed 
a perpetual dedication thereof for the purposes 
aforesaid ; and the real estate so dedicated shall 
be forever held by the said Society in trust for 
such purposes, and for none other. And the said 
Society shall have authority to grant and convey 
to any person or persons the sole and exclusive 
right of burial, and of erecting tombs, cenotaphs, 
and other monuments, in any such designated lots 
and subdivisions, upon such terms and conditions, 
and subject to such regulations as the said Society 
shall by their by-laws and regulations prescribe. 
And every right so granted and conveyed shall 
be held for the purposes aforesaid, and for none 
other, as real estate, by the proprietor or proprie- 
tors thereof, and shall not be subject to attach- 
ment or execution. 

Section 2. Be it further enacted. That for 
the purposes of this Act, the said Society shall be 
and hereby are authorized to purchase and hold 
any real estate not exceeding ten thousand dol- 
lars in value, in addition to the real estate which 
they are now by law^ authorized to purchase and 
hold. And to enable the said Society more effect- 



ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 210 

ually to cany the plan aforesaid into effect, and 
to provide funds for the same, tlie said Society- 
shall be and hereby are authorized to open sub- 
scription books, upon such terms, conditions, and 
regulations as the said Society shall prescribe, 
which shall be deemed fundamental and per- 
petual articles between the said Society and the 
subscribers. And every person who shall become 
a subscriber in conformity thereto, shall be deemed 
a member for life of the said Society without the 
payment of any other assessment whatsoever ; and 
shall moreover be entitled, in fee simple, to the 
sole and exclusive right of using, as a place of 
burial, and of erecting tombs, cenotaphs, and other 
monuments, in such lot or subdivision of such 
Cemetery or Burying Ground, as shall, in con- 
formity to such fundamental articles, be assigned 
to him. 

Section 3. Be it further enacted, That the 
President of the Society shall have authority to 
call any special meeting or meetings of the said 
Society, at such time and place as he shall direct, 
for the purpose of carrying into effect any or all 
the purposes of this Act, or any other purposes 
within the purview of the original Act to which 
this Act is in addition. 



220 ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 



AN ACT IN ADDITION TO " AN ACT TO INCORPO- 
KATE THE PROPRIETORS OF THE CEMETERY 
OF MOUNT AUBURN." 



Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- 
resentatives in General Court assembled, and by 
the authority of the same, as follows : 

Section 1. The Corporation known as the 
Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn 
may grant and convey to the heirs at law, devi- 
sees, or trustees of any deceased person, any lot 
or lots, and additions to the same, in said Ceme- 
tery, for the purpose of burial, or of erecting 
tombs, cenotaphs, and other monuments, in and 
upon the same, to be held by the grantees in ac- 
cordance with the provisions of Section Eight of 
the Act creating said Corporation. 

Section 2. Said Corporation may grant and 
convey to any other corporate body, its successors 
and assigns, any lot or lots, and additions thereto, 
for the purposes aforesaid, which lot or lots, if 
containing more than three hundred square feet, 
may be represented by the president, treasurer, 
or such other officer as may be designated by 
such corporate body. 

April Qth, 1859. 



BY-LAWS. 



The code of By-laws contains regulations for 
the most part additional to, or explanatory of, 
those contained In the Act of Incorporation. 

PROPRIETORS AND PRIVILEGES. 

Art. 1. A proprietor holding not less tlian 
three hundred feet of land Is a member of the 
Corporation, and, as such, Is entitled to vote at 
meetino;s, and to hold a ticket admittino; himself 
and his household to drive Into the Cemetery. A 
proprietor holding less than three hundred feet Is 
entitled to hold a like ticket of admission, but has 
not the right of voting. 

MEETINGS. 

Art. 2. The annual meeting of the Corpo- 
ration shall be held in Boston, after due notifica- 



222 BY-LAWS. 

tion, on the first Monday in February, in the 
afternoon. At tliis meeting, the report of the 
Trustees for the preceding year shall be read, 
also the reports of the Treasurer and Superin- 
tendent. The Trustees for the ensuing year shall 
be elected by ballot, and other business specified 
in the advertisement may be transacted. If the 
Secretary neglect duly to call the annual meeting, 
a special meeting shall be called in the manner 
prescribed in the Act of Incorporation, and said 
special meeting shall be the annual meeting for 
the year in which it is held. 

TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS. 

Akt. 3. The first meeting of the Trustees 
shall be called by the Secretary, and be held 
within two weeks after the annual meeting of the 
Corporation. At this meeting there shall be 
chosen by ballot, a President, Secretary, Treas- 
urer, a Committee on Finance, a Committee on 
Lots, a Committee on Grounds, and a Committee 
on Reo'ulations and Records of Interments, for 
the ensuing year. A Superintendent and Super- 
intendent's Clerk, a Gate-keeper, and a Gardener, 
shall also be chosen by hand vote ; and all salaries 
for the ensuing year shall be fixed. The Trus- 



BY-LAWS. 223 

tees shall meet at least once a month, and five 
Trustees shall constitute a quorum. No order of 
the Board, except to adjourn, shall be valid, unless 
it has received the votes of at least five Trustees. 

The President shall call a special meeting of 
the Board, whenever requested in writing so to 
do by five Trustees. 

No Trustee shall receive any salary, contract, 
or other emolument, for services rendered by him, 
while holding the office of Trustee ; and neither 
the Superintendent, Gate-keeper, nor any other 
paid servant of the Corporation, shall have any 
interest whatever in any work or materials fur- 
nished for the Cemetery. 

PRESIDENT. 

Art. 4. The President shall preside at meet- 
ings of the Corporation and of the Trustees ; he 
shall fix the time and place for special meetings ; 
he shall nominate all committees not otherwise 
provided for ; and shall report in writing at the 
annual meetino; the doino;s of the Trustees for the 
preceding year. In the absence of the President, 
his place shall be supplied by a temporary chair- 
man. 



22-i BY-LAWS. 



SECRETARY. 



Art. 5. The Secretary shall notify and attend 
all meetings, and shall record the doings of the 
Corporation and of the Trustees. He shall pre- 
pare and superintend the advertisements and other 
puhlications of the Trustees and Corporation. He 
shall prepare all legal instruments, and shall give 
legal opinions on all subjects required by the Trus- 
tees. He shall have charge of the delivery of 
tickets, of Catalogues, and other publications of 
the Trustees. He shall prepare, countersign and 
record, in a book kept for the purpose, all deeds of 
conveyance of land in the Cemetery, and shall 
insert and keep in a portfolio, all plans duly made 
of lots for proprietors, and shall number the same, 
and keep an index by which they may conveni- 
ently be found. 

The Secretary shall receive such salary as the 
Trustees may vote, together with the special fees 
designated for services to proprietors. 

TREASURER. 

Art. 6. The Treasurer shall give bonds in 
the sum of three thousand dollars for the faithful 
performance of the duties of his office. He shall 



BY-LAWS. 225 

have custody of the funds of the Corporation, 
under the direction of the Trustees. He shall 
collect dues and pay bills approved by the Presi- 
dent, or by the chairman of any committee duly 
authorizing an expenditure. He shall keep the 
funds deposited in a bank to the credit of the Cor- 
poration, and draw the same as Treasurer. He 
shall sign all conveyances. He shall preserve and 
file all papers relating to his official duties, and 
shall report at the annual meeting the receipts 
and disbursements for the last year, and the ex- 
isting state of the funds of the Corporation. 

The Compensation of the Treasurer shall consist 
in a commission on sales, to be fixed annually by 
the Trustees. 

SUPERINTENDENT. 

Art. 7. The Superintendent shall reside near 
the Cemetery, and, under the direction of the 
Trustees, shall have the general care and custody 
thereof; shall keep the avenues, paths, and 
grounds in neat and satisfactory order; and, as 
agent for the Trustees, shall have the sole power 
to engage and discharge workmen on the ground, 
also to order and arrange their respective duties, 
and to pay their wages not otherwise provided for. 
15 



226 BY-LAWS. 

He shall see that the rights of the Corporation are 
respected by artists, mechanics, and laborers em- 
ployed on the ground by individual proprietors. 
He shall see that all regulations with regard to 
interments and the construction of tombs be duly 
complied with. He shall fulfil all contracts made 
with proprietors for the repair of lots, and perform 
such other duties as the Trustees may require. 
He shall have the power to remove from the 
Cemetery improper and disorderly persons, also 
to abate nuisances, and remove rubbish and un- 
necessary incumbrances. He shall keep, in books 
provided for the purpose, regular and accurate 
records of all interments, including the names and 
ages of persons interred, and the place and date 
of their interment ; also of all monuments erected, 
and lots inclosed, sodded, or otherwise improved ; 
also of all moneys received or disbursed by him, 
whether for wages, fees, improvement of lots, 
sales of wood or other articles, purchases made, or 
services rendered. On the first day of every 
month, or oftener if required by the Trustees, he 
shall render to the Treasurer copies of said ac- 
counts, with proper vouchers, and pay over to 
him all moneys remaining in his hands. The 
compensation of the Superintendent shall be a 



BY-LAWS. 227 

salary, and tlie use of a house, with no other 
perquisites. 

superintendent's clerk. 

Art. 8. The Superintendent's Clerk shall 
assist the Superintendent by keeping the books, 
and performing such other duties as the Superin- 
tendent may require, and as are not incompatible 
with other duties required by the Trustees. 

GATE-KEEPER. 

Art. 9. The Gate-keeper shall attend the 
gate from sunrise to sunset, every day in the 
w^eek, and see to the enforcement of the rules 
respecting admittance. 

GARDENER. 

Art. 10. The Gardener, under the direction 
of the Superintendent, sliall take charge of and 
keep in repair, the lots of such proprietors as 
may apply to him for that service, and on such 
terms as may be agreed on between the parties ; 
he shall also keep for sale at some convenient 
place designated by the Trustees, shrubs, trees, 
and flowers, and be ready to furnish, plant, or 
cultivate the same at his own expense, and for 



228 BY-LAWS. 

such price and remuneration as may be agreed 
on with the purchaser. 

COMMITTEES. 

Art. 11. Standing Committees shall be cho- 
sen by ballot, other Committees may be chosen by 
hand vote. Vacancies occurring in any Com- 
mittee shall be filled in the same manner as that 
in which said Committee was chosen, and vacan- 
cies in Standino; Committees shall be filled at a 
meeting subsequent to that in which the vacancy 
is announced. No Committee shall expend more 
than one hundred dollars on any one object, unless 
authorized so to do by vote of the Trustees. 

COMMITTEE ON FINANCE. 

Art. 12. The Committee on Finance shall 
consist of two Trustees. They shall direct the 
Treasurer in regard to all sales and all invest- 
ments of the funds of the Corporation not other- 
wise provided for, or any part of the same. They 
shall also act as auditors, and shall examine the 
Treasurer's accounts before each annual meeting, 
and satisfy themselves in regard to the correctness 
of said accounts, also in regard to the safe preser- 
vation of all evidences of property belonging to 



BY-LAWS. 229 

the Corporation ; and tliey shall annex their re- 
port to the annual report of the Treasurer. 

COMMITTEE ON LOTS. 

Art. 13. The Committee on Lots shall consist 
of three Trustees. They shall have the general 
supervision of all sales, locations, and enlarge- 
ments of lots, also of all questions of right between 
individual proprietors, or between proprietors and 
the Corporation. No transfer or conveyance of 
land by the Corporation shall take place until it 
has received the approval, in writing, of a majority 
of the Committee on Lots. If an appeal to the 
Trustees is made by any party in interest, before 
the delivery of a deed, the Secretary shall delay 
acting until the case has been brought before tlie 
Trustees, and acted upon by them. The Com- 
mittee on Lots shall have power, subject to the 
concurrence of the Trustees, to contract with any 
proprietor for the repair of his lot perpetually, or 
for an indefinite time. They shall at least twice 
in each year inspect the lots which the Trustees 
have undertaken to keep in repair, and see that 
the trust is duly executed. 



230 BY-LAWS. 



COMMITTEE ON GROUNDS. 

Art. 14. The Committee on Grounds shall 
consist of five Trustees. They shall have general 
charge of the grounds, trees, avenues, and paths 
in the Cemetery, with power to make such altera- 
tions, repairs, and improvements therein, as they 
shall deem expedient. But no avenues or paths 
shall be changed in situation, without the consent 
of the Trustees expressed by vote. 

COMMITTEE ON KEGULATIONS AND RECORDS OF 
INTERMENTS. 

Art. 15. The Committee on Regulations and 
Records of Interments, shall consist of two Trus- 
tees. They shall superintend the general subject 
of interments, and see that the laws of the Com- 
monwealth and those of the Cemetery, in relation 
thereto, be complied with. They shall, from time 
to time, inspect the records and accounts of the 
Superintendent, and see that the same are suitably 
kept. 

INTERMENTS. 

Art. 16. No interment shall be made at 
Mount Auburn until such a permit as may be 



BY-LAWS. 231 

required by the laws of the Commonwealth, or of 
the city or town from which the deceased may be 
brought, together with an order from the proprie- 
tor of the lot in which such interment is to be 
made, or from his legal representative, shall have 
been presented at the gate, nor until the fees shall 
have been paid. 

Until otherwise ordered, two dollars and fifty 
cents shall be charged for digging a grave and 
making an interment, and fifty cents additional for 
recording the same. A deduction of one dollar 
shall be made from the above charges for a child 
under ten years of age. For each interment in 
a tomb, a charge shall be made by the Superin- 
tendent, according to the amount of service ren- 
dered in the case. 

The particulars and amounts of fees for burial 
shall be printed on the back of the order from the 
proprietor, together with the words, " payable at 
the time of interment." 

LOTS AND SPACES. 

Akt. 17. Lots shall be laid out by the Super- 
intendent, subject to the approval of the Com- 
mittee on Lots. In all future sales of lots, a space 
of not less than three nor more than six feet in 



232 BY-LAWS. 

width, at the discretion of the Committee on Lots, 
shall be reserved between the fence limits of dif- 
ferent lots, unless otherwise ordered by vote of 
the Trustees. 

The land left vacant as intermediate space be- 
tween lots in Mount Auburn, and not exceeding 
ten feet in width between any two lots, may be 
sold to the nearest lot holder or holders, at one 
third of the selling prices per foot at the time of 
said sale, with the condition that said land shall* 
forever be kept open and without interments : 
provided that, if the Committee on Lots deem it 
in expedient in any special case to make such sale, 
the question may be submitted to the Board of 
Trustees. 

The price of a full lot, until otherwise ordered, 
shall be one hundred and fifty dollars, or fifty 
cents per square foot. Enlarged lots, small lots, 
and land additional to lots, will be sold at a cor- 
responding rate per foot. Choice lots in such 
places as the Trustees may designate, will be held 
at an advanced price. 

No lots shall be gratuitously conveyed to pub- 
lic bodies or private individuals. 



BY-LAWS. 



PUBLIC LOTS. 



233 



Art. 18. Interments may be made in the 
public lots belonging to the Cemetery, and the 
graves numbered on stone, on payment of twelve 
dollars each, together with the customary fees 
payable in other cases of interment ; but no 
slab, monument, or fence shall be erected upon 
or around said graves without the approval of the 
Committee on Lots ; and, in case the body thus 
interred is removed from the Cemetery, the right 
is thereby vacated, and no allowance is made by 
the Corporation. 

SALES AND CONVEYANCES. 

Art. 19. Lots applied for by purchasers shall 
be laid out by the Superintendent, subject to the 
approval of the Committee on Lots. Upon the 
selection of a lot, the Superintendent shall issue 
to the party intending to purchase a certificate, 
giving him a right to pay for the lot at any time 
within five days, if the sale shall be approved by 
the Committee on Lots ; otherwise the bargain 
for sale shall be void. If the sale is approved by 
a majority of said Committee, the purchaser shall 



234 BY-LAWS. 

then pay to the Treasurer the customary or stipu- 
lated price of the lot sold him, and the Secretary's 
fee of one dollar, and receive a certificate therefor. 
The Secretary, on receiving the Treasurer's order 
for the deed of said lot, shall make, record, and 
return said deed to the Treasurer, who will de- 
liver the same to the purchaser, upon his present- 
ing the certificate, and receipting for said deed. 
In any doubtful case the Secretary or Treasurer 
shall ask instruction from the Trustees before exe- 
cuting a deed. 

No deed of any lot shall be issued to more than 
one grantee ; nor to any person as trustee, execu- 
tor, or administrator, except by the vote of the 
Trustees, or the authority of the Committee on 
Lots. This rule is not to apply to heirs at law, 
devisees, or trustees of a deceased person, or to a 
corporate body, in accordance with a provision of 
the Legislature of Massachusetts, passed April 6th, 
1859. No deed of any lot shall contain any 
special declaration of trust, without a vote of 
the Trustees therefor. 

All deeds of conveyance by the Corporation 
shall be under the' common seal, which shall be 
that heretofore adopted ; and signed by the Trea- 
surer, and countersigned by the Secretary, and 



BY-LAWS. 235 

recorded in the books of the Corporation. One 
dollar shall be paid to the Secretary for recording 
any deed of transfer, and giving the due certificate 
of the same. 

The forms of conveyance given in Appendix A, 
shall be used until otherwise ordered by the 
Trustees. 

LOTS OF DECEASED PROPRIETORS. 

Art. 20. "When the devisee of a deceased 
proprietor of any lot in the Cemetery shall desire 
to place upon the record of the deed of said lot, at 
the Secretary's office, the evidence of his title to 
the same, he may do so by producing a certified 
copy of the will of such proprietor (if the title is 
deducible therefrom), or of snch portion of said 
will as relates to said title ; and the same shall be 
duly recorded in a book kept for that purpose, and 
proper reference thereto be made upon the margin 
of the original record. The Secretary shall re- 
ceive the affidavit of any person who shall claim to 
be the sole heir at law of the deceased proprietor 
of any lot, in which the material facts necessary 
to support such claim shall be set forth, and he 
shall file the same with the papers of the Corpo- 
ration, with proper reference thereto, upon the 
margin of the original record. 



236 BY-LAWS. 

When the devisees or heirs at law of any de- 
ceased proprietor, or the guardian or trustee of 
such persons being infants, shall desire the ap- 
pointment of a person to represent the lot owned 
in common by them, written application to the 
Trustees shall be made by them in that behalf. 
Any person who shall be designated by any com- 
pany, society, or association, whether corporate or 
incorporate, which may own a lot of three hun- 
dred feet or more in the Cemetery, is authorized 
to represent such lot and vote at the meetings of 
the Corporation. Lots of less than three hundred 
square feet may be represented in the same manner 
as other lots for all purposes not conflicting with 
the charter. 

PLANS AND POETFOLIOS. 

Art. 21. A large map or plan of the Ceme- 
tery shall be kept at the Secretary's office, and a 
duplicate of the same at the Superintendent's office. 
On these shall be entered, under the direction of 
the Committee on Lots, by a surveyor to be from 
time to time designated by them, all avenues and 
paths duly named, and all lots sold or laid out by 
the Corporation duly numbered. If any avenue, 
path, or lot shall be given up, altered, or removed 



n 



BY-LAWS. 23 1 



hj tlie Trustees, a corresponding alteration shall 
be made in the plan. 

The Secretary shall procure and keep one or 
more portfolios, in which he shall insert such 
plans as proprietors may respectively procure to 
be made of their lots, such plans to be drawn by 
a surveyor approved by the Trustees, on paper of 
uniform size, which shall be furnished by the 
Secretary, and no plans shall be introduced into 
the portfolio unless they shall have been examined 
and approved by the Committee on Lots, or a 
majority of them, and certified by the Superin- 
tendent to be correct. Proprietors shall pay the 
expense of their own plans, and one dollar to the 
Secretary for examining and introducing the same 
into the portfolio and placing the name in the 
index. 

TKEES. 

Art. 22. Trees standing within lots can be 
removed, if desired, by an application from the 
proprietor to the Superintendent, subject to the 
approval of the Committee on Grounds. The 
Committee on Grounds have likewise charcre of 
the general subject of introducing and cultivating, 
also of trimming and removing trees and shrubs 
in other parts of the Cemetery. 



238 BY-LAWS. 



TOMBS. 

Art. 23. Lots for tombs may be sold in places 
approved by the Trustees, and at prices fixed by 
them. Such tombs shall be made in a strong, 
tight, and durable manner, and, except in cata- 
combs, — made as hereinafter described, — every 
part, including the door, shall be at least one foot 
under ground. 

CATACOMBS. 

Art. 24. Catacomb tombs may be constructed 
in such places and manner as shall be approved 
by the Committee on Lots, with the entrance 
doors above ground ; but no bodies shall be placed 
in them, except in single compartments made 
satisfactory to the Superintendent, and closed so 
as to be hermetically tight, with brick or stone 
and cement. 

RECEIVING TOMBS. 

Art. 25. Bodies may be deposited in the re- 
ceiving tombs on payment of twenty dollars to the 
Superintendent or Treasurer. But if within four 
months after interment, the deposited body shall 
be removed to any part of Mount Auburn, fifteen 



BY-LAWS. 239 

dollars of the above sum shall be refunded, other- 
wise the whole twenty dollars shall be forfeited 
to the Corporation ; and the Superintendent shall 
remove the body to such place as shall be directed 
by the Committee on Grounds. But the friends 
or relatives, with the consent of the Superin- 
tendent, and in a legal way, may, at their own 
expense, remove said body from the Cemetery. 

MONUMENTS, STONES, FENCES, ETC. 

Art. 26. Proprietors have the right to erect 
on their lots, fences, monuments, and stones, of 
appropriate character. Wooden fences and grave- 
stones of slate are not permitted. Live hedges of 
small or moderate size are allowed. All founda- 
tions of monuments and other structures shall be 
made satisfactory to the Superintendent, under 
the direction of the Committee on Lots. 

APPROPRIATIONS. 

Art. 27. No appropriation of money exceed- 
ing one thousand dollars for any one object, unless 
it be for the liquidation of a debt previously ex- 
isting, shall be made by the Trustees, except at a 
meeting at least" seven days subsequent to the 
meeting m which the said appropriation has been 



240 BY-LAWS. 

moved ; whereof special notice shall have been 
given. 

COLLECTION AND PAYMENT OF MONEY. 

Art. 28. All sums due the Corporation of 
one hundred dollars and upwards shall be paid to 
the Treasurer ; and all bills of like amount shall 
be paid by him ; and all bills except those for 
labor shall be approved either by the proprietor 
for whom the work is done, or by the Committee 
on Lots ; provided that nothing herein contained 
shall be understood as conflicting with the pro- 
visions of any existing by-laws. 

KEPAIR rXJND. 

Art. 29. The Trustees will receive in trust 
from any proprietor, a sum of money not less than 
one hundred dollars, the income of which shall 
be appropriated to the repair of his lot, according 
to the terms of trust given in the Appendix. 

The Trustees may also guarantee the perpetual 
repair of lots, containing tljree hundred feet and 
upwards, on the payment to the Treasurer of a 
sum not less than three hundred dollars, and of 
lots containing less than threo hundred feet, on 
the payment of a sum not less than one hundred 



BY-LAWS. 241 

dollars, according to the terms of trust given in 
the Appendix. In this case, if the Repair Fund 
should ever be lost, the whole property of the 
Corporation is held for the perpetual repair of 
such lots. 

All monies received from proprietors, for the 
purpose of keeping lots in repair, shall collectively 
constitute a separate fund, to be called the " Re- 
pair Fund," and shall be kept invested, under 
the direction of the Committee on Finance, in 
some public stock of this State, or of the National 
Government, or in the stock of some bank or 
banks of this State, or in some personal notes or 
obligations of private persons, secured by a satis- 
factory collateral pledge, or mortgage on interest. 

Each lot, in relation to which such contract 
shall have been made, shall be credited in a book 
kept for the purpose, with the principal sum given 
on account of said lot, and at the close of each 
year, a ratable proportion of the net income of the 
whole Repair Fund, less one half per cent., shall be 
carried to the credit of each lot, and the proper 
entries made accordingly. 

The Treasurer shall keep the Superintendent 
constantly informed as to all lots which the Cor- 
poration have agreed to keep in repair, and shall 
16 



242 BY-LAWS. 

also state the sums paid, by the proprietors as con- 
sideration for such ao-reements. 

A Hst of the lots, the repair of which has been 
contracted for by the Corporation, shall be pub- 
lished in each edition of the Catalogue of pro- 
prietors, together with the names of the present 
owners, and the sums respectively paid on said 
lots. 

ADMITTANCE. 

Art. 30. The Secretary shall furnish to each 
proprietor who may request it, a ticket, entitling 
him and his household to drive with a carriage 
into the Cemetery. These tickets are not trans- 
ferable. 

In all cases where the Secretary is satisfied, by 
a written petition to the Trustees, that the heirs 
or devisees in common of any lot have agreed 
upon any one person to represent the same, he 
may issue the ticket for such lot to the person 
designated in such petition as representative of 
such lot, to remain good until the further action 
of the Board. The petition, however, shall be 
presented, with notice of the Secretary's action, 
at the next meeting of the Trustees. 

The Secretary is authorized to issue more than 



BY-LAWS. 243 

one ticket upon one lot, where he Is satisfied that 
two or more persons are actual owners of a lot 
in fact, though the title is in the name of one 
only. 

The Secretary Is authorized to replace tickets 
which he is satisfied are actually lost. But if the 
lost ticket is found, the duplicate shall be returned 
to the Secretary. 

Strangers from a distance, also persons having 
business in the Cemetery, may be admitted with 
carriages on presenting a note or ticket of admis- 
sion signed by a Trustee or by the Secretary or 
Treasurer. The Trustees, however, may from 
time to time pass such votes for the admission of 
strangers and other non-proprietors, and under 
such regulations as they may deem expedient. 

The public are, at present, allowed to walk into 
the Cemetery, except on Sundays and holidays. 
Persons havino; a relative or near friend Interred 
there, may enter the Cemetery on Sundays and 
holidays, on presenting a card of admission from 
a Trustee, the Secretary, or Treasurer. All 
visitors are subject to the conditions a/id regula- 
tions prescribed in the by-laws. 

Teams, carts, and heavy loaded vehicles are 
not allowed to enter the front gate without the 



244 BY-LAWS. 

order of a Trustee. No omnibuses are allowed to 
enter the Cemetery. 

The rules and regulations concerning visitors 
to the Cemetery shall be as given in the Appendix 
until otherwise ordered by the Trustees. 

FTJNEEALS. 

Art. 31. Early notice of funerals should be 
given to the Superintendent on the ground at 
Mount Auburn. When a funeral arrives, a per- 
son will be in readiness at the gate to conduct the 
procession to the place of interment. If military 
funerals on foot or on horseback are admitted, no 
music nor firing of volleys will be allowed within 
the Cemetery. 

ALTERATIONS OF BY-LAWS. 

Art. 32. No alteration nor addition shall be 
made in any of the By-laws, unless the proposed 
alteration or addition shall have been submitted to 
the Trustees at a meeting at least seven days 
previous to the meeting at which it is to be 
acted upon. 



APPENDIX. 



FORM POE CONVEYANCE OE LOTS. 



Kjfow ALL Men by these Presents, That the Pro- 
prietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn, in considera- 
tion of dollars, paid to them 
by of the receipt of which is 
hereby acknowledged, do hereby grant, bargain, sell, and 
convey to the said and heirs and 
assigns, one lot of land in the Cemetery of Mount Auburn, 
in the County of Middlesex, situated on the way called 

and numbered, on the plan of 
said' Cemetery, which plan 

is in the possession of the said Corporation, for inspection 
by the said grantee, heirs and assigns, at 

all seasonable times, the said lot of land containing 
superficial square feet. 

To have and to hold the aforegranted premises unto the 
said heirs and assigns, forever ; 

subject, however, to the conditions and limitations, and 
with the privileges following, to wit : 

First. That the proprietor of the said lot shall have the 
right to enclose the same, with a wall or fence not exceeding 
one foot in thickness, which may be placed on the adjoining 
land of the Corporation, exterior to the said lot. 

Second, That the said lot of land shall not be used for 



246 FORMS. 

any other purpose than as a place of burial for the dead ; 
and no trees within the lot or border, shall be cut down or 
destroyed, without the consent of the Trustees of the said 
Corporation. 

Third. That the proprietor of the said lot shall have the 
right to erect stones, monuments or sepulchral structures, 
and to cultivate trees, shrubs, and plants in the same. 

Fourth. The proprietor of the said lot of land shall erect, 
at his or her own expense, suitable landmarks of stone or 
iron, at the corners thereof; and shall also cause the num- 
ber thereof to be legibly and permanently marked on the 
premises. And if the said proprietor shall omit, for thirty 
days after notice, to erect such landmarks, and mark the 
number, the Trustees shall have authority to cause the 
same to be done at the expense of the said proprietor. 

Fifth. That if the landmarks and boundaries of the said 
lot shall be effaced, so that the said lot cannot, with rea- 
sonable diligence, be found and identified, the said Trustees 
shall set off to the said grantee, heirs or assigns, a lot 

in lieu thereof, in such part of the Cemetery as they see fit, 
and the lot hereby granted shall, in such case, revert to the 
Corporation. 

Sixth. That if any trees or shrubs situated in said lot of 
land shall, by means of their roots, branches, or otherwise, 
become detrimental to the adjacent lots or avenues, or danger- 
ous or inconvenient to passengers, it shall be the duty of the 
said Trustees, for the time being, and they shall have the 
rio-ht, to enter into the said lot and remove the said trees 
and shrubs, or such parts thereof as are thus detrimental, 
dangerous, or inconvenient. 

Seventh. That if any monument or effigy, or any struc- 
ture whatever, or any inscription be placed in or upon the 
said land, which shall be determined by the major part of 
the said Trustees for the time being, to be offensive or im" 
proper, the said Trustees, or the major part of them, shall 
have the right, and it shall be their duty, to enter upon 



FORMS. 247 

said land, and remove the said offensive or improper object 
or objects. 

Eighth. No fence shall, from time to time or at any time, 
be placed or erected in or around the said lot, the materials 
and design of v^hich shall not first have been approved by 
the Trustees, or a committee of them. 

Ninth. No tomb shall be constructed v^ithin the bounds 
of the Cemetery, except in or upon the lots situated in such 
parts of the grounds as shall be designated by the Trustees 
for that purpose ; and no proprietor shall suffer the remains 
of any person to be deposited in a tomb so authorized, ybr 
hire. 

Tenth. The said lot of land shall be holden subject to the 
provisions contained in an act of the General Court, dated 
March 31, 1835, and entitled " An Act to incorporate the 
Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn." 

And the said Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Au- 
burn do hereby covenant to and with the said 

heirs and assigns, that they are lavrfully 
seised of the aforegranted premises, and of the ways leading 
to the same from the highway, in fee simple ; that they are 
free from all incumbrances ; that the Corporation have a 
right to sell and convey the said premises to the said 

for the purposes above ex- 
pressed ; and that they will warrant and defend the same 
unto the said heirs and assigns for- 

ever. 

And the said Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Au- 
burn further covenant to and with the said 

heirs and assigns, that the provisions of an order 
passed by the Trustees of this Corporation, on the sixth day 
of April, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-seven, 
(which is made part of this covenant, as if herein repeated,) 
for the establishment and security of a fund for the preser- 
vation of the Cemetery and its appurtenances, shall be 
forever kept, observed, and performed by the said Corpo- 
ration. 



248 FORMS. 

In testimony whereof, the said Proprietors of the Cemetery 
of Mount Auburn have caused this instrument to be signed 
by their Treasurer and countersigned by their Secretary, 
and their Common Seal to be hereto affixed, the 
day of in the year of our Lord one thou- 

sand eight hundred and 



FORM FOR CONVEYANCE OF SPACES BETWEEN 
LOTS, TO BE KEPT OPEN. 

Know all Men by these Presents, That the Proprie- 
tors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn, in consideration of 

dollars, 
paid to them by of the receipt of which 

is hereby acknowledged, do hereby grant, bargain, sell, and 
convey to the said and heirs and as- 

signs, a certain piece of land in the Cemetery of Mount 
Aviburn, adjoining the side of lot, which is 

situated on the way called and numbered on 

the plan of said Cemetery ; the said piece of land being 
feet wide and feet in length, containing 

square feet. 

To Have and to Hold the aforegranted premises unto the 
said heirs and assigns for- 

ever ; subject, however, to the conditions and limitations 
following, to wit : 

First. That no part of said premises shall ever be used as 
a place of burial for the dead ; unless the owner of the said 
lot shall purchase the same for the purpose of enlarging his 
burial lot. 

Second. That the whole of said premises shall forever 
remain as a part of the open grounds of said Cemetery ; 
except in the event of being purchased by the owner of the 
said lot as aforesaid. 



FORMS. 249 

Third. That no tree, shrub, or plant, and no inscription, 
landmark, monument, fence, or structure whatever, shall 
be placed in or upon the premises, or be removed there- 
from, without the consent of the Board of Trustees, for the 
time being, of said Corporation. 

And the said Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Au- 
burn do hereby covenant to and with the said 

heirs and assigns, that they are lawfully 
seised of the aforegranted premises, and of the ways leading 
to the same from the highway, in fee simple ; that they are 
free from all incumbrances ; that the Corporation have a 
right to sell and convey the said premises to the said 

for the pur- 
poses above expressed ; and that they will warrant and de- 
fend the same unto the said heirs and 
assigns forever. 

And the said Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount 
Auburn further covenant to and with the said 

heirs and assigns, that the provisions of an order 
passed by the Trustees of this Corporation, on the sixth 
day of April, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty- 
seven, (which is made part of this covenant, as if herein 
repeated,) for the establishment and security of a fund for 
the preservation of the Cemetery and its appurtenances, 
shall be forever kept, observed, and performed by the said 
Corporation. 

In testimony whereof, the said Proprietors of the Ceme- 
tery of Mount Auburn have caused this instrument to be 
signed by their Treasurer and countersigned by their Secre- 
tary, and their Common Seal to be hereto affixed, the 

day of in the year of our Lord 

one thousand eight hundred and 



250 FORMS. 



FORM FOR DONATION IN TRUST FOR THE RE- 
PAIR OF LOTS. 

Be it Known, that I, of 

the Proprietor of Lot No. in the Cemetery of 

Mount Auburn, do hereby give unto the Proprietors of the 
Cemetery of Mount Auburn, the sum of 

dollars, for their sole use forever ; in trust, neverthe- 
less, that the Trustees of the said Corporation for the time 
"being, shall, in order to obtain an income therefrom, invest 
the same from time to time, in their discretion, in some 
public stock of this State, or of the National Government, 
or in the stock of some Bank or Banks of this State, or in 
some personal notes or obligations of private persons, se- 
cured by a satisfactory collateral pledge or mortgage, on 
interest, and to apply the income or interest thereof, from 
time to time, after deducting therefrom the sum of fifty 
cents out of every hundred dollars of the sum so above 
given, as follows : — 

Firsi. To keep in suitable and good repair and preser- 
vation, Lot No. in the said Cemetery, and the 
monument, fences, trees, shrubbery, and soil thereon. 

Secondbj. To suffer the surplus, if any, of such income 
or interest to accumulate for such time as the said Trustees 
may deem expedient, or in their discretion to apply the 
same surplus, or any part thereof, from time to time, to the 
ornament and preservation of the grounds of the said Ceme- 
tery, or to any other, or all the purposes to which, by the 
Act of Incorporation, the funds of the said Corporation 
may be lawfully applied, and which are appropriate to the 
objects of the establishment of said Cemetery. 

Provided, however, That the said Trustees shall never be 
responsible for their conduct in the premises, except for 
good faith and such reasonable diligence as may bb required 
of mere gratuitous agents ; and provided further, that the 



FORMS. 251 

said Trustees shall in no case be obliged to make any sepa- 
rate investment of the sum so given, and that the average 
income or interest derived from all funds of the like nature 
belonging to the Corporation, shall be divided annually, 
and carried proportionally to the credit of each lot entitled 
thereto. 

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and 
seal, on this day of 

A D. 18 

Executed in presence of 



FORM FOR DONi^TION IN TRUST FOR PER- 
PETUAL REPAIR OF LOTS. 

[The same as preceding, with the following clause, in- 
serted immediately after the in testimonium clause.] 

MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 

The Committee on Lots hereby certify that they approve 
of the sum of dollars as sufficient to warrant 

the guaranty on the part of the Proprietors of the Ceme- 
tery of Mount Auburn, that the within named Lot num- 
bered shall be forever kept in good order and 
repair. 

Committee on Lots, A. D. 18 

N. B. — Printed blanks for donation in trust for the care 
of Lots, in the foregoing forms, are gratuitously furnished 
by the Secretary to proprietors who may request them. 



REGULATIONS CONCERNING VISITORS TO THE 
CEMETERY. 



The gates are opened at sunrise, and closed at 
sunset. 

No money is to be paid to the Gatekeeper. 

No persons are admitted on Sundays or 
Holidays, except Proprietors and members 
of their Household, and persons accompanying 
them. 

No refreshments, and no party carrying refresh- 
ments, will be admitted to come within the 
grounds at Mount Auburn. 

All persons who shall be found within the 
grounds making unseemly noises, or otherwise 
conducting themselves unsuitably to the purposes 
to which the grounds are devoted, will be required 
instantly to leave the grounds, and upon refusal 
will be compelled to do so ; such persons will also 
be prosecuted. 



REGULATIONS. 253 

No vehicle is to be driven, in the Cemetery, at 
a rate faster than a walk. 

No horse is to be left unfastened without a 
keeper. 

No horse is to be fastened, except at the posts 
provided for this purpose. 

All persons are prohibited from gathering any 
flowers, EITHER VfYLD OR CULTIVATED, or breaking 
any tree, shrub, or plant. 

Any person who shall be found in possession of 
flowers or shrubs, while in the grounds, or before 
leaving them, will be deemed to have unlawfully 
taken them in the grounds, and will be prosecuted 
accordingly. N. B. — Persons carrying flowers 
INTO the Cemetery, to be placed on any lot or 
grave, as offerings or memorials, are requested to 
notify the Gatekeeper, as they pass in ; in every 
other case flowers brought to the Cemetery must 
he left without the gate, or with the Gatekeeper, 
until the owner passes out again. 

All persons are prohibited from writing upon, 
defacing, and injuring any monument, fence, or 
other structure, in or belonging to the Ceme- 
tery. 

All persons are prohibited from discharging 
fire-arms in the Cemetery. 



254 REGULATIONS. 

The Superintendent, the Gatekeeper, and any 
other person acting under them, shall have a right 
to require his or her name, from any person other 
than a proprietor, or a member of his family, who 
shall visit the grounds, and upon his or her refusal, 
or giving a false name, to exclude them from the 
grounds. » 

The Superintendent, the Gatekeeper, and all 
other persons acting under them, shall have full 
authority to carry these regulations into effect, 
and shall give notice of any violations thereof to 
the Trustees. 

1|@^ The Superintendent has the care of the 
Cemetery, and is authorized to remove all those 
who violate these regulations, or commit tres- 
passes. Trespassers are also liable to be fined 
Fifty Dollars. 

J^^ Twenty Dollars reward is offered to 
any person who shall give information to the 
Trustees, which shall lead to the conviction of 
the offender, of any trespass done by taking or 
plucking any flowers, shrubs, or trees, within 
the grounds, or of otherwise injuring the grounds? 
or of any other offence against the laws and regu- 
lations provided for the protection of the Ceme- 
tery, and the monuments and erections therein. 



OFFICERS FROM 1831 TO 1860. 



Joseph Story, 
Jacob Bigelow, 

George W. Pratt, . 
Charles P. Curtis, 
Benjamin R. Curtis, 
Henry M. Parker, 
Austin J. Coolidge, 

George Bond, 
Georg-e W. Bond, 



David Haggerston 
John W. Russell, 
Rufus Howe, 
Jonathan Mann, 

Anthony Apple, 

Joseph Story, 
Jacob Bigelow, 
George Bond, 
Benjamin A. Gould, 
H. A. S. Dearborn, 
George W. Brimmer, 



Presidents. 



Secretaries. 



Treasurers. 



Superintendents. 



Gardener. 



Trustees. 



from 1835 to 1845 

, «' 1845 '« 1860 

" 1831 " 1832 

, " 1832 " 1835 

" 1835 «' 1844 

, " 1844 " 1855 

" 1855 " 1860 

" 1831 " 1842 

, «« 1842 " 1860 

" 1832 " 1834 

*« 1833 " 1840 

«* 1840 " 1855 

. " 1855 " 1860 

. " 1858 " 1860 

*' 1831 " 1845 

, " 1831 " 1860 

*' 1831 ♦' 1842 

«' 1831 " 1859 

" 1831 " 1833 

" 1831 " 1832 



256 



LIST OF OFFICERS. 



Charles Wells .... from 1831 to 1832 


Zebedee Cook, Jr. . . , . ' 


' 1832 ♦ 


' 1833 


Edward Everett, . . , . ' 


' 1831 ♦ 


' 1832 


George W. Pratt, . . . . ' 


' 1831 ' 


' 1832 


Joseph P. Bradlee, ... * 


« 1833 ' 


' 1837 


Charles Brown, . . . . * 


' 1833 ' 


« 1837 


Charles P. Curtis, . . . ' 


' 1833 ' 


' 1860 


Samuel' Appleton, . . . . ' 


' 1834 ' 


' 1837 


Elijah Vose, . . ' . . ' 


' 1834 ' 


' 1835 


James Read, . . . . ' 


' 1835 ' 


* 1860 


Benjamin R. Curtis, . . . ' 


' 1837 ' 


« 1851 


Martin Brimmer, . .. . ' 


« 1838 ' 


' 1847 


Isaac Parker, . . . . * 


« 1838 ' 


« 1854 


Samuel T. Armstrong, ... * 


' 1839 ' 


'1840 


George W. Crockett, . . . * 


' 1843 ' 


' 1855 


John C. Gray, . . . . ' 


' 1845 * 


' 1849 


John J. Dixwell, . . . . * 


' 1847 « 


' 1851 


Mace Tisdale, . . . . ' 


' 1850 ' 


« 1868 


George H. Kuhn, . . . . * 


' 1852 « 


'1855 


Charles C. Little, . . . • 


' 1852 ♦ 


'• 1860 


Isaiah Bangs, . . . . * 


' 1854 ' 


* 1859 


James Cheever, . . . , * 


' 1856 ' 


' 1860 


Uriel Crocker, . . . . * 


' 1856 ' 


' 1860 


William R. Lawrence, ... * 


' 1856 « 


' 1860 


Henry S. McKean, . . . . ' 


' 1856 ' 


« 1857 


Charles G. Nazro, . . . * 


« 1856 ' 


' 1860 


William T. Andrews, . . . . ' 


' 1859 ' 


« 1860 


Jacob Sleeper, .... * 


' 1859 ' 


« 1860 


Edward Tobey, . . . • ' 


« 1859 ' 


' 1860 



Before 1835 the Board acting as Trustees were called the 
"Garden and Cemetery Committee." 



DIRECTORY TO AVENUES AND PATHS. 



AVENUES. 



Ash 


leads from Culvert t9 Maple. 


Beech 


(C 


cc 


Central to Poplar. 


Cedar 


cc 


cc 


Cypress to Walnu,t. ' 


Central 


(( 


cc 


the Gate to Walnut. 


Chapel 


(( 


cc 


Central to Pine. 


ChestHut 


cc 


cc 


Magnolia to Poplar. 


Citron 


(( 


cc 


Larch to Magnolia. 


Culvert 


(( 


cc 


Central to Maple. 


Cypress 


<c 


cc 


Central to Walnut. 


Elm 


cc 


cc 


Pine to Mistletoe P. and back to Pine. 


Fir 


cc 


c c 


Elm to junction of Walnut and Cypress. 


Garden 


(C 


cc 


the Gate to Maple. 


Larch 


cc 


cc 


Poplar to Maple. 


Lawn 


cc 


cc 


Pine, near the Gate, to Spruce. 


Laurel 


cc 


cc 


Walnut to the same. 


Lime 


cc 


cc 


Maple to the same. 


Locust 


cc 


cc 


Poplar to Beech. 


Magnolia 


cc 


cc 


Walnut to Maple. 


Maple 


cc 


cc 


the north-east to the south-east corner of 
the Cemetery. 


Mountain 


cc 


cc 


Magnolia round the Tower. 


Oak 


cc 


cc 


Willow to Maple. 


Pine 


cc 


cc 


the Gate to Cypress. 


Poplar 


cc 


cc 


Central Square to Chestnut. 



17 



258 



AVENUES AND PATHS. 



Eosebay leads from Larch across the bridge to same. 

Spruce " *' Pine to Fir, thence by westerly side of 

Cemetery to Walnut. 
Walnut ** *' Central Square to Mountain. 

Willow " '* Poplar to Larch. 

Yew " " Garden to Ash. 



PATHS. 

Acacia leads from Spruce Av. to Verbena P. 

Acanthus " " Larch to Magnolia Ay. 

Acorn " " Maple Av. to Evergreen P. 

Ailanthus lies between Central, Cypress, and Cedar Avs. 
Alder leads from Locust to Poplar Av. 

Almond " *' Indian Ridge P. to the same. 

Aloe *' " Lidian Ridge P. to Lime Av. 

Alth^a *' " Maple to Garden Pond. 

Amaranth encircles the crown of Harvard Hill. 



Anemone ' 


leads from Spruce Av, to Orange P. 


Andromeda 




(( 


Maple to Garden Pond. 


Arbutus 




(C 


Lime Av. to 


Arethusa 




ec 


Walnut Av. to Trefoil P. 


Asclepias 




cc 


Spruce to Fir Av. 


Asphodel 




(C 


Lawn to Chapel Av. 


Aster 




c< 


Vine to Ivy P. 


Azalea 




cc 


Spruce Av. to same. 


Bellwort 




cc 


Spruce Av. to Orange P. 


Buckthorn 




cc 


Oak to Citron Av. 


Camellia 




cc 


Yew to Maple Av. 


Catalpa 




cc 


Indian Ridge P. to same. 


Columbine 




cc 


Spruce to Fir Av. 


Cowslip 




cc 


Spruce to Walnut Av. 


Clethra 




cc 


Yew to Maple Av. 


Daisy 




cc 


Locust Av. to Alder P. 


DeU 




cc 


Vine P., on East and west sides of 
Pond to S. side, thence to Ivy P. 


Elder 




cc 


Walnut to Spruce Av. 


Eglantine 




cc 


Fir to Spruce Av. 


Evergreen 




cc 


Lime Av. to same. 



AVENUES AND PATHS. 



259 



Fern leads from Mountain to Walnut Av. 

Gentian " " Cypress to Pine and Spruce Avs. 

Geranium lies between Central and Beech Avs. 

Green Brier leads from Pine Av. to Mistletoe P. 

Harebell «' " Walnut Av. to Trefoil P. 

Hawthorn " " Chestnut Av., by two ways, to Sweet 

Briar P. 
Hazel " " Mountain Av. to Rose P. 

Heath leads from Spruce to Fir Av. 

Heliotrope " " Spruce to Fir Av. 

Hemlock '* " Poplar Av. to Ivy P. 

Hibiscus lies between Cypress and Cedar Avs., entrance and 

exit on Cypress. 
Honeysuckle leads from Green Briar P. to St. John's Lot, 
Holly " " Poplar A v. to Ivy P. 

Hyacinth " " Cypress to Chapel Av. 

Indian Ridge *' " Central to Larch and Maple Avs. 
Iris " " Moss to Ivy P. 

Ivy *' " Central Square to Woodbine P. 

Jasmine " " Chestnut Av. to Hawthorn P. 

Kalmia " " Yew to Maple Av. 

Laburnum " " Spruce Av. near Lawn to Chapel. 

Lavender " " Mountain to Chestnut. 

Lilac " " Willow Av. to Indian Ridge P. 

Lily " " Poplar Av. to Aster P., thence to 

Woodbine P. 
Linden " " Beech Av. to same. 

Lupine " " Cypi"ess to Spruce Av. 

Mimosa " *' Spruce to Fir Av. 

Mistletoe " " Elm Av. to St. John's Lot, thence to 

Fir Av. 
Moss " " Laurel Av. to Ivy P. 

Myrtle " " Chestnut Av. to Hazel P. 

Narcissus " " Willow Av. to Catalpa P., and around 

Forest Pond back to Willow Av. 
Oleander " " Myrtle to Rose P. 

Olive " " Myrtle to Sweet Brier P. 

Orange " " Walnut Av. to same. 



260 



AVENUES AND PATHS. 



Orcllis leads from Walnut Av. to Tulip P. 

Osier *' " Willow Av. to Indian Ridge P. 

Oxalis '* " Willow Av. and round the upper half 

of Auburn Lake. 

Peony " " Chapel to Cypress Av. 

Petunia " '' Larch to Magnolia Av. 

Pilgrim " " Walnut Av. to Snowdrop P. 

Primrose " " Central to Culvert Av. 

Pyrola " '* Spruce Av. to Orange P. 

Rhodora " " Oak to Larch Av. 

Rose encircles Harvard Hill. 

Rosemary leads from Jasmine to Hawthorn P. 

Saffron " " Spruce Av. to St. John's Lot. 

Sedge *' "Fir Av. to Heath P. 

Sorrel " " Spruce to Fir Av. 

Snowberry " '* Pine near the Gate to Central Av. 

Snowdrop " " Walnut to Spruce Av. 

Spiraea " " Fir Av. to Mistletoe P. 

Sumac " " Moss to Violet P. and Walnut Av. 

Sweet Brier '* " Chestnut Av. to Hawthorn P. 

Sylvan *' " Walnut to Mountain Av. 

Thistle " " Spruce Av. to Cowslip P. 

Trefoil " *' Spruce to Walnut Av. 

Tulip " " Walnut Av. to Trefoil P. 

Verbena " " Spruce to Fir Av. 

Vine " " Moss to Iris P. 

Woodbine " " Hawthorn to Ivy P. 

Yarrow " " Green Brier, westerly to Fir Av., 

thence easterly to Pine Av. 



Hazel Dell, between Central Avenue and Indian Ridge Path. 
Consecration Dell, the deep hollow north of the Tower. 
Central Square, between Walnut Avenue and Moss and Ivy 
Paths. 



INDEX. 



Acts of Incorporation, &c., 

205. 
Adams, John, statue of, 71. 
Adams, Hannah, 23. 
Address, by Edward Everett, 
133. 
" by Joseph Story, 143. 
*' by Jacob Bigelow, 
175. 
Admission to Cemetery, 29. 
Alteration of By-Laws, 244. 
Appropriations, 139. 
Armstrong, S. T., Trustee, 38. 
Avenues and Paths, 257. 

Ballon, Hosea, statue of, 81. 
Bangs, Isaiah, decease of, 81. 
Bigelow, Jacob, Trustee, 5, 6, 
21. 
" *' discourse of, 

175. 
Bond, George, Trustee, 3. 

'« " decease of, 38. 

Bond, G. W., Treasurer, 39, 
Bowditch, Nathaniel, statue of, 

52. 
Bridge at Auburn Lake, 73. 
Brimmer, G. W., Trustee, 3. 



Brimmer, G. ^Y., decease of, 

35. 
Building, space about, 126. 
By-Laws, 221. 



Catacombs, 129, 238. 
Catalogues, 30. 
Cautionary suggestions, 117. 
Chapel, building of, 54. 

" rebuilding of, 58. 
Collection and payment, 240. 
Columbaria, 129. 
Committees, 228. 
Committee on Finance, 228. 
" Lots, 229. 
" " Grounds, 230. 

" " Interments &c., 

230. 
Committee on improvements, 

39. 
Conditions of conveyance, 245. 
Consecration, 11. 
Consecration Dell, 76. 
Consecration hymn, 204. 
Conveyance of Lots, 250. 
Crawford, Thomas, sculptor, 
72. 



262 



INDEX. 



Dearborn, H. A. S., 20. 

" " Report of, 168. 

Directory to Avenues and 

Paths, 257. 
Donations in trust, 256. 
Drainage, 53. 

Everett, Edward, 6, 7. 

<« <« Address of, 133. 

Experimental Garden, 6. 

Fence, iron, 48. 
Fence, wooden, 23, 60. 
Filling up of Garden Pond, 76. 
First Meeting, 2. 
Forest Pond, 76. 
Forms, 245. 
l-'resh Pond, 39. 
Fund for repairs, 39. 
Fund, permanent, 83, 123. 
Funerals, 244. 

Garden Pond, 74. 

Gardener, 77, 227. 

Garden and Cemetery Com- 
mittee, 10. 

Gate-keeper, 77, 227. 

Gateway, stone, 25. 

Gateway, wooden, 24. 

Gould, B. A., Trustee, decease 
of, 82. 

Greenough, R. S., sculptor, 72. 

Harvard College, 80. 

Horticultural Society, 4. 

Horticultural Society, separa- 
tion from, 31, 32. 

Hymn, Consecration, 204. 

Incorporation of Mt. Auburn, 
33. 

Interments, 230. 



Interment, mode of, 126, 128. 
Intermediate spaces, 232. 
Investment, first, 27. 
Iron fence, 42. 

Lawn, 74. 

Loring, Miss, donation, 74. 
Lots and spaces, 231. 
Lots of deceased proprietors, 
235. 

Meetings, 221. 

Monuments, stones, fences, 

&c., 239. 
Mount Auburn, description of, 

13, 14. 

Names of avenues, paths, &c., 

21. 
Nazro, C. G., Trustee, 72. 

Officers first, chosen, 34. 
Officers from 1831 to 1860, 

255. 
Original plan of the land, 28. 
Otis, James, statue of, 71. 

Paths, directory to, 257. 

Permanent fund, 83, 123. 

Pierpont, Rev. John, Conse- 
cration hymn, 204. 

Plans and portfolios, 236. 

Plan of land before purchase, 
28. 

Police, special, 78. 

President, 223. 

Price of lots, 22, 28. 

Proprietors and privileges, 221. 

Public lots, 22, 233. 



INDEX. 



263 



Purchase of D. Stone & Cutter, 
27. 

Quarter lots, 73. 

Receiving tombs, 238. 
Regulations for visitors, 258. 
Repair fund, 240. 
Report, first, 238. 

" Judge Story's, on Im- 
provements, 40. 
" Dr. Bigelow's, on 
Statues, 62. 
Report, Annual, for 1856, 90. 
♦' 1857, 97, 
" 1858, 103. 
" 1859, 108. 
" 1834, 196. 
Rogers, Randolph, sculptor, 
73. 

Sales and conveyances, 233. 
Secretary, 224. 
St. James's lot, 22. 
St. John's lot, 22. 
Statues, the, 62. 
Statues, vote on, 67. 
Shrubs, ornamental, 78. 
Stone Farm, 28, 78, 101, 109. 



Stone's Woods, 3. 
Story, Joseph, 7, 12, 40. 

" " decease of, 50. 

" " statue of, 69. 

Story, W. W., sculptor, 69. 
Superintendent, 225. 
Superintendent's clerk, 227. 
Superintendent's house, 76. 
Survey, 11. 
Sweet Auburn, 3. 
Tombs, 238. 
Tower, the, 59. 
Treasurer, 224. 
Trees, 119, 236. 
Trees, ornamental, 78. 
Trustees and officers, 222. 
Trustees first chosen, 34. 
Trustees, number of, 38. 

View from the Tower, 61. 

Wadsworth, Alex., surveyor, 

11. 
Water courses, 73. 

Water levels, 39. 
Well-house, 59. 
AVinthrop, John, statue of, 71. 
Wooden fence, first, 23. 
Wooden fence, palisade, 50. 



THh July 1860. 

t'- 



^ ' r 



sfcD 



m 



UBRARY OF CONGRESS 




00D573nat,S 



mtmxffiu 









